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Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Maharashtra's sugar output plummets by 29L tonnes in 2024-25
Kolhapur: Shorter cane crushing season in 2024-25 has marked a significant drop of 29 lakh tonnes in Maharashtra's sugar production compared to the past year. According to the sugar commissionerate office in Pune, the season, which commenced on Nov 15, saw 200 sugar mills in operation. These mills collectively produced 81 lakh tonnes of sugar — a substantial decrease of around 29 lakh tonnes from the 110 lakh tonnes produced in the 2023-24 season when as many as 208 mills were functional. The total sugar cane crushed by these mills in 2024-25 amounted to 850 lakh tonnes, down from the 1,070 lakh tonnes crushed in the previous season. Furthermore, the average sugar recovery rate also declined, from 10.27% to 9.5%. The duration of the crushing season was notably shorter this year, with mills operating for a maximum of 90 days, significantly lower than the average of 130-150 days seen in previous years. The conclusion of crushing activities was staggered across the months: 11 mills finished in Jan, 95 in Feb, 89 in March, 4 in April and one in May. The official declaration of the season's end was on May 14. Vijay Autade, a sugar industry expert from Kolhapur, highlighted the financial implications of this shorter season and reduced recovery. "The decline in average crushing days, being one of the lowest recorded, poses a risk to the financial stability of sugar mills. Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Idosa cai no banheiro em Ibitinga e filha adota medida para proteger ela Tudo é Notícia Undo The drop in crushing resulted in an estimated loss of Rs10,700 crore for the mills as compared to the previous year, while the lower sugar recovery rate contributed to an additional loss of Rs2,960 crore. The reduced profitability has left very few mills in a position to pay farmers the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for their sugar cane," he said. He added, "Rainfall was abrupt last year. When the rains were needed, especially at the maturation stage, the weather remained dry. This impacted the growth of sugar cane. The cane matured early, leading to a dip in the per acre tonnage of the crop and thereby the sugar production." Experts and millers are now demanding that the sugar's minimum support price should be increased to Rs 42 per kg, with an equivalent increase in the ethanol procurement rates. Recently, the Centre once again increased the FRP, while it has not changed the MSP for the last five years. "The mill owners will also seek restructuring of the loans and additional funds to keep up with the maintenance cost of the machinery," said Autade.
Time of India
30-04-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Centre hikes sugar cane fair and remunerative price
Kolhapur: Centre, on Wednesday, increased the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugar cane for 2025-26. It is a 26% increase since 2019. However, the minimum support price (MSP) of sugar has remained constant at Rs 31 per kg for the past five years, which is a major cause of concern for sugar millers in Maharashtra, said experts. The cabinet committee of economic affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accepted the recommendation of the commission for agricultural costs and prices to fix the FRP for sugar cane at Rs 3,550 per tonne for a sugar recovery rate of 10.25%. An additional Rs 346 is added for every 1% increase in the sugar recovery rate above the base recovery rate. The FRP for 2025-26 is Rs 150 per tonne more than what was fixed for the 2024-25 crushing season. Maharashtra has the highest sugar recovery rate in the country, around 11%, and millers will have to pay Rs 3,810 per tonne to farmers. The sugar recovery rate for Kolhapur district is even higher, around 12.5%. "The FRP fixed is inclusive of the harvesting and transportation cost. Deducting the harvesting and transportation cost, farmers will effectively get Rs 2,900 per tonne since, in the coming year, the harvesting and transportation cost may increase due to rising labour and fuel prices. While govt is making farmers happy, it is not bringing cheer to the faces of sugar millers, who, year after year, demand a hike in the MSP of sugar, which is at Rs 3,100 per quintal. The demand is to increase the MSP to Rs 4,100 per quintal," said Vijay Autade, a sugar industry expert. Autade said for the 2024-25 crushing season, hundreds of crores of rupees in FRP are due with the sugar millers. "The sugar commissionerate is issuing warning notices to seize sugar and assets to recover the FRP. Now, further increases in FRP will add a burden on them," added Autade. Raju Shetti, the president of Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, said, "The hike of Rs 150 per tonne is meagre given the prices of sugar hovering above the MSP in the markets, and the millers are benefiting from it. At present, sugar prices in the retail market are Rs 40-44 per kg. In comparison, the hike is very low. Farmers are facing increased expenditure in growing sugar cane. I think the ideal FRP should be Rs 3,800 per tonne."
