Yamunanagar: Haryana’s sugar mills are facing a sugarcane shortage this crushing season, as the area under sugarcane cultivation has shrunk by more than 15%. The crop area, which stood at 3,59,803 acres in 2023-24, has dropped to 3,04,309 acres in 2024-25, raising concerns about supply to the mills, reported The Tribune.
The state has 14 sugar mills, including cooperative ones located in Panipat, Rohtak, Karnal, Sonepat, Shahabad, Jind, Palwal, Maham, Kaithal, Gohana, and Assandh (run by HAFED), as well as private mills in Naraingarh (Ambala district), Bhadshon (Karnal district), and Yamunanagar. Some, including Saraswati Sugar Mills in Yamunanagar and the Cooperative Mill in Karnal, have already started crushing operations.
The drop in sugarcane cultivation has been attributed to various factors, including poor crop yields caused by unfavourable weather, flood damage in areas served by mills in Shahabad, Naraingarh, and Yamunanagar, and a shortage of labour required for cultivation and harvesting.
DP Singh, senior vice-president (cane) of Saraswati Sugar Mills, explained that farmers in Haryana and neighbouring Punjab rely heavily on migratory labour from states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. “The shift to crops like paddy, wheat, and poplar, which offer better returns, is also influencing farmers to move away from sugarcane,” he said.
Singh also stressed how sugarcane cultivation was much less mechanized compared to crops like paddy and wheat, where much use of machinery was made. Singh said the reduced cane area would result in lower production levels, and thus, mills would have to shut down earlier in the season. “This will also affect seed availability for the next planting season,” he added.
Farmers, too, have voiced their concerns. Anil Kaushik, a farmer from Lal Chhappar Majri village, acknowledged the government’s steps to incentivize sugarcane cultivation but emphasized the need for mechanical solutions. “Providing machinery like cane harvesters is essential to address the labour shortage,” Kaushik said.
With the season moving along, everyone now waits to see how these would challenge Haryana’s sugar industry and what the state government would do to help both its farmers as well as its mills.
