Visakhapatnam: Sugarcane cultivation in Andhra Pradesh has fallen drastically due to rising input costs, labour shortages, and the closure of several sugar factories, leaving the state’s sugar industry in deep crisis. Farmers are struggling with unpaid dues and uncertainty about whether factories will resume operations, reports The Times of India.
In the combined Visakhapatnam district, only the Govada sugar factory remains out of the four that once operated. The unit still owes about ₹32 crore to farmers from the last crushing season. To reopen this year, it requires another ₹60 crore for repairs and expenses, bringing its total financial need to nearly ₹90 crore. Farmers, who have been waiting for months to be paid, have launched protests over the delay.
With sugar factories shutting down, many growers have abandoned sugarcane in favour of alternative crops such as maize, paddy, casuarina, and sunflower. The closures of the Bheemasingi and Sitanagaram factories in Visakhapatnam district have worsened the situation, forcing farmers to transport their cane to factories in Srikakulam district.
A similar crisis is unfolding in Krishna district, where the Challapalli, Lakshmipuram, and Hanuman Junction factories have also closed in recent years. The overall area under sugarcane in Andhra Pradesh has shrunk to just 40,000 hectares, down sharply from past levels. In Anakapalli district, cultivation has fallen to under 3,000 hectares from about 30,000 hectares seven years ago.
“Sugarcane is a long-term crop that takes nearly 10 months and requires heavy investment,” said a farmer from the region. “Farmers are getting only ₹85,000 to ₹90,000 per acre, and in rainfed lands it is below ₹65,000 after investing nearly ₹80,000. How can farmers survive like this?”
With sugar mills in decline, many growers have turned to jaggery production. Anakapalli hosts the country’s second-largest jaggery market, but prices have offered little relief. Farmers said they earned only ₹381 for a 10 kg lump of jaggery, leaving them unable to recover costs.
“The number of sugar factories in the state has dropped sharply, with only five operating now out of 29,” said another farmer. “Nine cooperative factories and 15 private ones have closed, including three in the erstwhile Visakhapatnam district. Even the Govada factory’s future is uncertain. It needs about ₹100 crore to run this season, but its crushing capacity has already dropped from five lakh tonnes to just one lakh tonnes. Farmers are bracing for another steep fall in production this year.”
