Western Indian Sugar Mills Association (WISMA) has urged the Maharashtra government to provide financial assistance to the sugar mills to crush excess cane grown in the state, mainly in Marathwada region.
WISMA president B B Thombare has written to the state cooperative minister Balasaheb Patil to provide financial assistance to mills for lower recovery and transport the excess cane.
Thombare said, “Sugar mills in the state have succeeded in achieving top rank in the country in sugar production following the guidelines issued by the state government and sugar commissionerate. The area under sugarcane cultivation for the 2021-22 season was 12.32 lakh hectares and the mills have produced 112 lakh tonne sugar by crushing 1150 lakh tonne sugarcane so far.”
“Sugar mills in Marathwada are operating fully to their capacity. Despite this, around 15 to 20 lakh tonnes of sugar would be available for crushing till May 31, 2022. Excess cane will be available in Osmanabad, Beed, Jalna, and Parbhani districts. The temperature rise has affected the harvesting activities and the speed of cane cutting is going at a slow pace in these districts. The delay in cane cutting is increasing the financial burden of the sugar mills in the region,” he said.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has recently asked sugar mills in the Marathwada region to crush all the available sugarcane to avoid distress to farmers in the region. He had also assured to assist sugar mills to ensure no sugarcane is left in the field for crushing.
WISMA has urged the government to decide on providing financial assistance to the sugar mills before March 31 so that they continue crushing the excess cane.
WISMA requested the government to provide Rs 3 per tonne per km financial assistance to transport cane up to 50 km from April 1, 2022, financial assistance of Rs 150 per tonne in April, and Rs 250 per tonne in May/June for lower sugar recovery.
