Output next season may see a steep fall
Pune: The sugarcane cultivation in Maharashtra is likely to decline due to drought in 26 districts in the state. The State government is collecting the data of cane cultivation and according to sources the decline in cane cultivation will have a drastic impact on sugar production. Primary estimates show that production in the next season might be reduced to just half of this season’s output.
Notwithstanding the severe drought, 195 mills in Maharashtra have crushed 951.79 lakh mt cane to produce 1,071.94 lakh quintals of sugar. Farmers, however, have avoided cultivating cane in view of severe drought. According to government sources, cane cultivation in Marathwada will be the most affected and there would be hardly any cane for mills to start the next crushing season. Marathwada dams have just 3 per cent water and thousands of villages are dependent on water tankers. This year 47 mills crushed 167.35 lakh mt sugarcane in the Marathwada region.
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