Sugar output drops nearly 35% to 45.81 lakh tonnes till December 15: ISMA

Sugar mills in the country have produced 45.81 lakh tonnes of sugar till December 15, nearly 35 per cent less than 70.54 lakh tonnes produced in the corresponding period of the previous sugar season, a statement from Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said on Wednesday.

Currently, 406 mills are crushing sugarcane as against 473 mills same period last season.

Sugar production in Uttar Pradesh, the No. 1 sugar producing State, was 21.25 lakh tonnes, nearly 12 per cent more than 18.94 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period last year. The higher production was possible because the UP mills stared crushing a week in advance this year. As many as 119 mills are currently in crushing operation as against 116 mills last year. 

In Maharashtra, 124 sugar mills are currently in operation and they have produced 7.66 lakh tonnes of sugar till December 15. This is much lower than 29 lakh tonnes produced in the corresponding period in the last sugar season. Karnataka sugar mills, 63 of which are in operation, produced 10.62 lakh tonnes, which is 3.32 lakh tonnes lower than that in the same period last crushing season.

The production in Maharashtra and Karnataka are lower than last year because the mills in these States started crushing late by one month and one week, respectively. Sugar recovery too is reported to be lower as compared to last year, partly because mills are crushing sugarcane damaged by floods, ISMA said. 

Sugar mills in Gujarat produced 1.52 lakh tonnes sugar, Bihar 1.35 lakh tonnes, while those in six other States including, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana produced another 2 lakh tonnes of sugar so far.

Sugar mills and stand-alone distilleries have offered to supply 163 crore litres of ethanol against tenders floated by oil marketing companies. Of this, 10.38 crore litres will be sugarcane juice, 62.58 crore litres from B heavy molasses and 86.39 crore litres from C heavy molasses. An additional 3.78 crore litres will come from damaged foodgrains. One more tender of ethanol is expected soon, ISMA said.