3 fold rise in sugar production

Thanks to better crop output and timely commencement of the crushing operation, India’s sugar production has surged nearly three-folds to 14.10 lakh tonnes in the 2020-21 season against 4.84 lakh tonne in the same period last year, according to Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA). This has been due to a string of factors such as very good rainfall and sufficient water availability in reservoirs in Maharashtra and Karnataka, better cane availability due to higher cane acreage and improved yield per hectare.

Mills in Uttar Pradesh, India’s leading sugar producing state, manufactured 3.85 lakh tonnes of sugar till November 15. This is more than 2.93 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period. Meanwhile, mills in Maharashtra, the second-largest sugar producing state, manufactured 5.65 lakh tonnes of sugar so far this season; while sugar production in Karnataka rose to 3.40 lakh tonnes from 1.43 lakh tonnes in the said period last year.

The industry body anticipates that sugar supply will be more with an opening balance of 106.4 lakh tonne sugar in 2020-21 season and an estimated sugar production of 310 lakh tonnes this season, it said.