Sugar production in the country dipped over 8 per cent to 32.24 million tonnes (mt) until May 31 in the ongoing sugar season (October 2022 to September 2023), as against 35.19 mt year-ago, industry sources said.

As many as 20 mills closed operations in the second fortnight last month reducing the number of operational mills further to 17 as of May 31, including 10 mills in Tamil Nadu. During the year-earlier period, the number of operational factories was higher at 45.

The output in Uttar Pradesh was higher by 3 per cent at 10.52 mt against 10.2 mt, while it dropped in Maharashtra to 10.53 mt from 13.69 mt and in Karnataka to 5.5 mt from 5.82 mt. Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka are the top three sugar producers in the country.

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Tamil Nadu has reported a 27.2 per cent rise in sugar production to 1.17 mt until May 31 from 0.92 mt in the year-earlier period, industry sources said. Bihar has reported a significant increase of 37.2 per cent at 0.63 mt output against 0.46 mt. Other states where sugar production has gone up from last year include Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, the sources said.

The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), an industry body of private sugar companies, had cut its estimate of sugar production for the current season to 32.8 mt in April from earlier 34 mt after taking into consideration a drop in Maharashtra output and a marginal increase in Uttar Pradesh. The annual domestic consumption is pegged at 27.5 mt. The country produced 35.76 mt in the 2021-22 season.

Meanwhile, the agriculture ministry, last week, released the first weekly update of the sowing area of kharif crops even as farmers eagerly wait for the monsoon to arrive on the mainland. The coverage of sugarcane is higher this year as sugar mills clear the dues for supply of the cane on time. So far, sugarcane has been planted on 46.98 lakh hectares (lh) against 46.67 lh year-ago.

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