Pune: Maharashtra’s sugar commissionerate has estimated that the state is likely to produce 138 lakh tonnes of sugar in the upcoming crushing season after diverting 12 lakh tonnes of sugar for ethanol production as the area under cane cultivation has increased to 14.87 lakh hectares.
As per estimation, the cane grown in 14,87,836 hectares of the area will be available for crushing for the next season. Considering average production of 95 tonnes per hectare, the total cane available for crushing will be 1413 lakh tonnes and with an average recovery of 11.20 per cent, around 150 lakh tonnes of sugar would be produced in the state.
A total of 138 lakh tonnes of sugar will be available in the state, considering 10.30 per cent, after diverting 12 lakh tonnes for ethanol production.
The area under cane cultivation has increased in the Beed, Jalna and Sangli districts due to favourable rainfall. The commissionerate is planning to start crushing operations in October this year to ensure that all the cane grown in the state is crushed in time.
