Govt revises downwards 2020-21 sugar output estimate to 30.2 mt

New Delhi,  The country”s sugar production is expected to be 30.2 million tonnes in the ongoing 2020-21 marketing year, about 800,000 tonne lower than the initial estimate, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

However, the sugar production is estimated to be higher than 27.4 million tonne achieved during the 2019-20 marketing year (October-September).

“Already, mills have manufactured 23.4 million tonnes of sugar. Crushing operation will be over in Maharashtra and Karnataka this month; while in Uttar Pradesh, it will continue till May,” the official told PTI.

Based on the inputs from cane-producing states, the government had pegged sugar production initially at 31 million tonnes for the current year.

“But, the production is expected to be slightly lower at 30.2 million tonne because of damage to the cane crop owing to unseasonal rains in some parts of Uttar Pradesh,” the official said.

The sugar production would be slightly lower than the initial estimate in both Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, the country”s top two sugar-producing states.

Production in Uttar Pradesh is expected to be 10.2 million tonnes in the current 2020-21 year, lower than 12.6 million tonnes last year.

Similarly, the output in Maharashtra is expected to be 10.2 million tonnes this year when compared with 6.1 million tonnes last year.

The initial sugar production estimate for each of these two states was 10.5 million tonne for the current year.

Whereas production in Karnataka, the country”s third-largest sugar-producing state, is expected to increase to 4.7 million tonne in the 2020-21 marketing year from 3.45 million tonne last year, the official added.

The current year”s production is likely to be more than the annual requirement of 26 million tonne. Besides sugar, mills are manufacturing ethanol used for blending with petrol.

Mills are also undertaking export of sugar under a quota fixed by the government. PTI