Pune: Many sugar mills in Maharashtra are shutting their crushing operations as the state had been affected by flood and drought. As per data from Maharashtra Sugar Commissionerate, overall 13 sugar mills, 7 in Aurangabad, 3 in Ahmednagar, 2 in Solapur, and 1 in Pune district have closed their operations. Overall 143 sugar mills participated in the current crushing season.
The non-availability of labour for harvesting and less availability of sugarcane have upset the sugar mills this season. Also, flood and drought have hampered the sugar production in the state. Till 19th February, 418.77 lakh tonnes sugarcane was crushed and produced 45. 68 lakh tonnes of sugar with a recovery rate of 10.91 per cent.
According to the experts, it is expected that most of the mills will finish crushing season in the upcoming 15 to 20 days. Also, the season in Maharashtra commenced late this year. Sugar mills in the state officially kick-started crushing season on November 22 after they got permission from state Governor BS Koshyari in the absence of a functional state government.
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