Tonnes of sugarcane lie uncrushed after bumper harvest; MVA offers sop

MUMBAI: In a year where Maharashtra has produced a bumper crop of sugarcane, 19.5 lakh tonnes of cane still remain to be crushed towards the end of the season. Given the impact on farmers, CM Uddhav Thackeray has directed that sugar mills will remain open till all the cane in the state is crushed. The government will also give sugar factories a subsidy of Rs 200 per tonne of sugarcane for continuing to function after May 1.
The subsidy is set to cost the government Rs 100 crore. The plentiful monsoon in 2021-22 resulted in the area under sugarcane cultivation growing by 2.2 lakh hectares over the previous year. Maharashtra is set to produce 138 lakh tonnes of sugar, which is 30% higher than the previous year. Maharashtra will be the top sugar producer in the country for the second consecutive year. However, the bumper crop has resulted in 19.5 lakh tonnes of cane still lying uncrushed, mainly in the arid Marathwada region. This is leading to farmer distress.