Belagavi: Recent flood has caused massive damage to the sugarcane crop in Belagavi district, following which now the sugar mills in the district are grappling with unprecedented sugarcane shortage.
According to the reports, the flood had destroyed sugarcane crop on 1.15 lakh hectares, which is around 45 per cent of the total cane that stands on 2.5 lakh hectares in the district. This would ultimately be going to harm sugarcane production. It is expected that, with the impact on sugarcane, it is likely to affect sugar mills as they will face sugarcane scarcity to run the mill with full capacity. The unavailability of sugarcane will not only hamper sugar mills, but it will also affect overall sugarcane production in Karnataka. Sugarcane farmers who are already stressed with pending sugarcane arrears are now in the state of shock and struggling to come back on a track.
Weaker mills that are yet to pay sugarcane arrears, and those whose field offices are not able to assure farmers of cutting and transporting, will suffer as sugarcane farmers may not supply cane to them.
Same is the case in Maharashtra as well, where due to lack of sugarcane scarcity many sugar mills in Maharashtra are not likely to participate in the sugar season 2019-20. Flood in Pune, Sangli, Satara, Solapur and Kolhapur districts have majorly hit the sugarcane crops. Sugar millers in Maharastra are asking for the crushing season to be delayed, which will give the standing cane crop in western Maharashtra as well as drought-hit Marathwada time to recover.
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