According to the Economic Times, the Maharashtra government has decided to ban the export of molasses, a feedstock for ethanol production, for the upcoming 2023-24 sugarcane crushing season.
This move comes in the wake of an anticipated 15% decline in sugarcane production.
The sugarcane crushing season 2023-24 in Maharashtra will commence on November 1, 2023. In a meeting led by Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday, the date was officially set to start the crushing operations in the state. CM Shinde also directed that sugar mills do not start sugar mills before the scheduled date.
In a presentation delivered by the sugar commissioner, it was stated that Maharashtra has reported the cultivation of sugarcane across nearly 14 lakh hectares, with an estimated 1,022 lakh tonnes to be crushed by the mills. The government estimates that the state would produce 88.58 lakh tonnes of cane which the industry said can be revised based on the ground situation later. This season, the state would see a drastic reduction in production from the last season’s 105.6 lakh tonnes. It is estimated that 15 lakh tonnes of sugar would be diverted for production of ethanol.
