Sugar production in the forthcoming sugar season is projected to be around 28.2 million tonnes (mt), about 4.7 mt, or 14 per cent, lower than the current season’s production of 32.95 mt, said Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) on Monday.

 

The lower production is because of drop in the area under sugarcane cultivation. As per satellite data currently available, the area under sugarcane cultivation is estimated to be 49.31 lakh hectares (lh), about 10 per cent lower than the cane area of 55 lh in the 2018-19 (October 2018 to September 2019) season, ISMA said.

 

In Uttar Pradesh, the largest sugar producing State, even though the cane area shrank by 2 per cent to 23.6 lh, the sugar production is expected to be marginally higher at 12 mt. The sugar production in the 2018-19 season was 11.82 mt. The moderate increase in production is on account of more UP farmers opting for high yielding cane varieties.

 

The sugarcane cultivation, on the other hand, is down by 30 per cent in Maharashtra, the second highest sugar producing State as the State was hit by poor rainfall and low water levels in the reservoirs in the State. As against the cane area of 11.54 lh in 2018-19 season, the area is expected to decrease to 8.23 lh in the coming season. Sugar production is, therefore, estimated to be around 7 mt in 2019-20 as compared 10.72 mt produced in the current season.

 

In Karnataka , poor rainfall has adversely hit sugarcane acreage, which is expected to fall by 16 per cent to 4.2 lh as against 5 lh in the 2018-19 season. Correspondingly, the projected sugar production from Karnataka is 3.5 mt as compared to 4.36 mt in 2018-19.

 

Similarly, Tamil Nadu too is expected to produce 0.75 mt sugar in the coming season as against 0.86 mt in current season. The reduction is due care area shrinkage due to deficient rains. Much change is not expected in other States which cumulatively production around 5 mt of sugar annually, ISMA said.

 

According to the sugar industry body, till June end sugar mills in the country produced 32.81 mt of sugar, which is expected to go up further to 32.95 mt because of more production till September this year.