New Delhi: Sugar mills have manufactured 25.37 per cent more sugar at 17.68 million tonnes in the first four months of the current marketing season ending September this year, industry body ISMA said on Tuesday.
The sugar production across the country was 14.10 million tonnes in the year-ago period, it said in a statement.
Sugar sales are reported to be more or less similar to last year at around 6.75 million tonnes during October-December of the ongoing marketing season.
For the 2020-21 marketing season, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has pegged the country's total sugar output to be 30.2 million tonnes, higher than the actual production of 27.42 million tonnes achieved in the 2019-20 marketing season.
According to ISMA, about 491 sugar mills were in operation till January of this marketing season, as against 447 sugar mills in the year-ago period.
Production in Uttar Pradesh -- the country's leading sugar producer -- remained slightly lower at 5.44 million tonnes till January of this season, as against 5.49 million tonnes a year ago.
However, production in Maharashtra -- the country's second-largest sugar producer -- increased substantially to 6.38 million tonnes from 3.46 million tonnes in the said period.
Whereas production in Karnataka -- the country's third-largest sugar producer -- also increased to 3.43 million tonnes till January from 2.79 million tonnes.
Sugar production stood at 5,55,000 tonnes in Gujarat, while the collective output in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was 3,56,000 tonnes in the said period.
The remaining states -- Bihar, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, and Odisha -- have collectively produced 1.51 million tonnes till January this season, the statement said.
Welcoming the budget proposals, the industry body said the increase in import duty on denatured ethyl alcohol from 2.5 per cent to 5 per cent will make inward shipments costlier by around Rs 1 per litre at the current global rates.
This in turn will increase the demand for domestic molasses and alcohol produced by the Indian sugar industry and grain-based distilleries, giving better returns. This will ensure better payments to the Indian sugarcane and grain farmers, it said.
"Overall, the Indian sugar industry welcomes the various steps taken by the government to financially help the industry and the sugarcane farmers," ISMA said.
The industry body also requested the government to extend all benefits and incentives proposed to be given to the sectors -- which contribute towards improving air quality and increasing renewable energy production in the country -- to the Indian sugar industry/ distilleries that produce and supply ethanol for blending with petrol.
(PTI)
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