Indian sugar mills association

Sugar output 19%

Date:	18 Jan 2012

Source:	The Financial Express

Reporter:	FE Bureau

News ID:	858

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New Delhi: India`s sugar output rose 19% until January 15 from a year earlier due to higher cane crushing in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, industry data released on Tuesday showed.

Production rose to 10.45 million tonne since the marketing year started on October 1, compared with 8.76 million tonne a year before, the Indian Sugar Mills Association said.

Isma has forecast sugar output in 2011-12 at 26 million tonne, sharply higher than the food ministry`s prediction of 24.7 million tonne. The country expects to consumer around 21.5 million tonne in 2011-12. The country was sugar-surplus in 2010-11 after two successive years of a domestic shortage with production level reaching 24.3 million tonne.

UP, Maharashtra and Karnataka have witnessed a 22% increase in sugar output from a year before.

“Higher sugar production of UP is mainly because of the fact that the sugar mills had to start their crushing much earlier than usual, as directed by the state government. Arrival of gur in UP mandis is also less by about 17% until December, 2011, compared with last year, which clearly shows less diversion of cane for manufacturing gur,” ISMA said.

UP has crushed 34.7 million tonne of sugarcane until January 15, compared with 27.1 million tonne a year before. “Though the quantum of cane crushing is higher, the early crushing has affected the recovery which is lower at 8.49% until January 15 in comparison to 8.85% last year,” the association said.

Maharashtra crushed 34.6 million tonne of cane until January 15, compared with 31.5 million tonne a year before. “But due to higher recovery of 10.71% achieved this year as compared to 10.25% last year, the sugar production is higher. The state is expecting lower cane yield but the increase in area under cane and much higher sugar recovery compensates for the lower yield and the production in Maharashtra may be similar or higher to last year,” ISMA said.

“We stand by our production forecast of 26 million tonne for 2011-12, as recovery from cane has been higher in Maharashtra,” ISMA director general Abinash Verma had said late last month.

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