Maharashtra, a state that produced nearly 10 million tonnes of sugar last year, will see a sharp fall in output as a severe drought is expected to force restrictions on the crushing of the sweetener.

The state government is looking to delay the start of the crushing season, expected to begin from October 31. “We expect the crushing season to be delayed, so there will be a sharp fall in sugar production,” Sanjeev Babar, Managing Director, Maharashtra State Co-operative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd.

The sugar factories controlled by the state’s politicians are looking to ensure a few weeks of cane crushing even as protests demanding supply of water for drinking are gaining ground across Maharashtra.

Farmer organisations and activists say it takes 2,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of sugar. In many places in Maharashtra, the administration is buying sugarcane for cattle feed. The opposition Nationalist Congress Party is demanding that the government pay remunerative prices for cane purchased for fodder.