The Maharashtra sugar season for 2024-25 has concluded with a gloomy note, with official data that reveals a strong drop of 26.6 percent in sugar production compared to the previous year. Of the 200 operational sugar factories in the state, 199 have arrested crushing operations, producing only 807.61 quintals Lakh of sugar of 1,100.93 Lakh quintals in 2023-24.
The decrease in production is closely linked to a drop in sugar cane availability. The total amount of crushed cane this season stood at 852.34 Lakh Tons (LT), marking a decrease of 20.6 percent of the 1,073.9 LT crushed last season.
More worrying is the sugar recovery rate, which fell from approximately 1,025 quintals per ton of cane in 2023-24 to 0.947 quintals this season. This suggests not only lower cane availability, but also deteriorate the quality of cane or suboptimal processing conditions, possible due to erratic climate, water scarcity or delayed collection.
You can raise challenges
The recession is likely to affect the interested parties throughout the value chain, from farmers and mills to ethanol producers and merchants.
Reduced production could harden sugar supplies and impact prices in the coming months, while posing challenges for the objectives of combination of ethanol under the clean energy objectives of India.
As Maharashtra plays a fundamental role in the country’s sugar production panorama, the performance of the season is being closely observed by political leaders and industry actors equally, especially in the context of changing climatic conditions and the need for the long -year sector.
Molineros have demanded that the government must take note of the concerns expressed by the industry and help sugar mills to address the possible financial crisis of the image.
Posted on April 17, 2025