Aurangabad, Jul 6 (PTI) The sugarcane production in Maharashtra may go up by at least 237 lakh tonnes this year, and sugar factories in the state may have to work additionally for half a month to crush the produce, the president of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) Jayprakash Dandegavkar said on Tuesday.
The federation”s estimation was based on water availability and the monsoon predicted this year, the official said, adding that the production is expected to go up in Marathwada and western Maharashtra this year. “Last year, 100 cooperative and 92 private sugar factories in Maharashtra had crushed 1,012 lakh tonnes. The availability of water in various dams and in the ground will aid in the growth of sugarcane cultivation across the state.
This year, we are expecting that factories may have to crush around 1,250 lakh tonnes of sugarcane,” Dandegavkar told PTI. However, the sugar production will remain more or less the same as last year, he said. “Maharashtra had produced 106.3 lakh tonnes of sugar last year and we are expecting 110 lakh tonnes this year. This is because the use of sugarcane in ethanol production in the state has gone up. Maharashtra”s sugar factories have produced 28.50 crore litres of ethanol so far this year and its target till October 2021 is 59.61 crore litres,” he said. The NFCSF chief further explained that factories have to run for more days this year. Factories took 140 days to crush 1,012 lakh tonnes of sugarcane last year, while this time around it may take 15 days more due to additional production, Dandegavkar said, adding that this might lead to a little unrest in farmers till the time their sugarcane is taken to the factory. The old stock in the state can last up to March 2022, and the fresh stock will start coming in from October, the official said. PTI
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