Depressed domestic prices caused by five consecutive
seasons of surplus sugar output and more than ₹10,000 crore arrears to
farmers in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra do not seem to have impacted
sowing of sugarcane this Kharif season.
The crop was
sown across nearly 49 lakh hectares (lh),as of August 19 – up 3.5 per
cent from last year. Unlike other seasonal crops, such as rice and
soyabean, drought conditions prevailing in much of India are unlikely to
hurt sugarcane, a water-guzzler.
It’s a relatively hardy crop than rice or maize. Barring extreme climates with temperatures approaching 45 degrees Celsius, harsh weather is not likely to affect the crop said Ashok Kumar Srivastava, principal scientist, who heads the Agro-Meteorology Unit at the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, Lucknow
Acreage, yield up
Acreage in UP, the largest
cane-producing State, has touched 21.06 lh, higher than the 19.43 lh
recorded during the same period in 2014-15. The yield is expected to
increase due to a shift in varieties planted across the State, while
average sugar recovery rate is expected to remain at around 9.6 per
cent.
“Yields in the State will rise to between 590
and 600 quintals/hectare from about 580 last season. This can be
attributed to a varietal shuffling with better ones like CO 238 being
planted extensively. A poor variety giving low sugar content, such as
CoSe92423, has been rejected this year,” an industry official said.
Poor rainfall in Maharashtra has seen acreage drop to 10 lh from 11.34 lh at the same time last year.
The
figure, however, remains higher than the normal area of 9.23 lh, while
sugar recovery is traditionally higher compared to UP. The area under
cane in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is also higher compared with last year
Dipping prices
Ex-mill prices in Maharashtra are around ₹22/kg, lower than the cost of
production of ₹28-30. In UP, the ex-mill price is about ₹24, also lower
than the production cost at ₹31-33.
Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)
The government has already announced a fair and remunerative price (FRP)
of ₹230/quintal for the 2015-16 season,” said Manohar Joshi, Managing
Director, National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories
Cane Dues
At present, cane dues are estimated at ₹7,500 crore in UP and about ₹3,000 crore in Maharashtra
Sugar balance sheet
The Indian Sugar Mills
Association expects a sixth season (October -September) of surplus sugar
output and has pegged the production at 280 lakh tonnes (lt) in
2015-16, slightly lower than 283 lt produced this season.
It estimates a carryover stock of 102 lt from the ongoing season, far higher than the requirement of 43 lt.
Domestic consumption in the next season is pegged at 252 lt, leaving a surplus of around 130 lt.
India's Sugar Export
India,the world's number two producer, announced new rules last month making it compulsory for sugar producers to increase exports to at least 4 million tonnes in the present crushing season, to cut stockpiles.
The government gave a subsidy of 4,000 rupees a tonne for exports of raw sugar in 2014/15 year ended on Sept. 30 to help cut stockpiles after five years of surplus output.
The government has not yet made clear whether it will extend subsidies in the 2015/16 year started on Oct.1,2015
In the last crushing season which began on Oct. 1, 2014, India exported 1.3 million tonnes
Sugarcane Production in Tamil Nadu
Water Intensive Sugarcane Production(requires water supply for 17 hours a day for about 7 months) has dipped by 37% since 2011
2011-12 - 386 lakh MT
2012-13 - 340 lakh MT
2013-14 - 325 lakh MT
2014-15 - 245 lakh MT
Drastic reduction in sugarcane cultivation is seen in the Districts of Tanjore;Nammakkal'Nagapattinam and Ariyalur where the fall i more than 10000 acres each
Productivity also has fallen from 111 MT/Hectare to 93 MT/Hectare
Tamil Nadu stood 3rd position in sugarcane production in India until 2006 and has now slipped to t he 4th position after Uttar Pradesh;Maharashtra and Karnataka
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