Pune: Sugarcane crushing season in Maharashtra has been affected due to incessant rains and waterlogging.
The Indian Express has reported that, sugar millers say they would start crushing operations only after Diwali when harvesting and transportation labour would come to the fields.
As per the instructions of Maharashtra’s sugar commissionerate, the sugarcane crushing in state was slated to start in the early week of October, however, the incessant rainfall delayed the crushing operations of sugar mills.
The 2021-22 crushing season was extended till mid-June due to surplus cane available for crushing.
“Rains have forced us to postpone the start of the season,” B B Thombare, chairman and managing director of Latur-based Natural Sugar and Allied Industries Limited was quoted as saying by The Indian Express. Thombare’s sugar mills had plans to start their season on October 14. However, they had to postpone it to October 20 due to the rain.
Sugar mills from Kolhapur and Sangli districts, the sugar bowl of the state, have also decided to start operations after Diwali due to rainfall in the region.
Sugar mills in Maharashtra are likely to crush 1,342 lakh tonnes of cane and produce 138 lakh tonnes of sugar this season.
