Aurangabad: (Maharashtra)
Sugar
production in Maharashtra is likely to take a hit this year as poor climatic
conditions have caused large-scale damage to sugarcane crop, an official said
on Thursday. Only 150 sugar factories in Maharashtra are likely to be operational
this year compared to 195 last year, the official added.
“Drought-like condition that prevailed in the state over
the last three years and unseasonal rainfall this year have posed problems for
sugarcane cultivation,” Maharashtra State Co-operative Sugar Factories
Federation Ltd (MSCSFFL) chairman and former MLA Jayprakash Dandegaonkar said.
“Sugar production in the state will decrease this year,
as we expect only 150 sugar factories to take up production compared to 195
last year,” he said. Last
year, 102 were co-operative and 93 were private factories were engaged in sugar
production, he said. While 850
lakh tonnes of sugarcane was crushed in 2018, the quantum has come down to 550
lakh tonnes this year, he added.
“The quality of the crop has also suffered, which is why
the quality of sugar produced is likely to be affected,” he added.
The official, however, said that although the
production is set to go down, the price of sugar in the country will remain
unaffected as there was enough stock to meet the market demand. (PTI)
