October 10, 2024

Deabruak

The business lovers

COVID-19: Sugar industry in Maharashtra may be in for some bitter times

 

COVID-19 is impacting sugar market stakeholders in numerous means. The unfold of the virus has lowered sugar consumption from sugar mills, which will, heading foward, end result in fiscal challenges for these companies. At the exact time, quite a few farmers are apprehensive at the cane standing in their fields, as 56 out of 146 sugar mills have stopped crushing action.

As for every the knowledge accessible with Maharashtra Sugar Commissioner, mills in the Condition have crushed 501 lakh tonnes of sugarcane to develop 558.49 lakh quintals of sugar. In accordance to the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) the each day price of crushing in the latest time in Maharashtra is drastically lower than previous calendar year. Also, mills that are now operating will be closing earlier than previous calendar year. “The latest unparalleled predicament owing to the outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted international sugar price ranges,” mentioned ISMA, incorporating that the influence could be temporary.

Whilst no sugar mill has claimed closure owing to the unfold of COVID-19, the lockdown has afflicted sugarcane chopping. In western Maharashtra, farmers are apprehensive at the fear of coronavirus that has the gripped cane cutters.

About 2.five crore people in rural Maharashtra count on the sugar time to gain their livelihoods and the sugarcane market gives immediate work to about one.sixty five lakh employees. Apart from this, about 8 lakh employees are engaged in harvesting and transport operations, for six months.

“The COVID-19 influence has also lowered sugar offtake from sugar mills in the previous fifteen times or so. It is understood that sugar in the pipeline would have received offered in the wholesale and retail markets in the previous couple of weeks,” ISMA said in a press release.

It additional that in accordance to experts, it is expected that new shopping for by sugar mills may take location shortly simply because the pipeline would have largely dried up all through the previous couple of weeks. That should command sugar price ranges and the shopping for should assistance the sugar mills.

Condition sugar barons are likely to maintain a conference to take a critique of the predicament and to solution the Condition and central governments to body a policy for mills in the backdrop of the latest predicament, it mentioned.