Sugar production likely to fall by 4% in 2012-13: ISMA

PUNE: Indian Sugar Mills Association ( ISMA) lowered its all India sugar production estimate for 2012-13 by close to 4% as it expects output in biggest sugar-producing state Maharashtra to decline by about 16%.

ISMA has estimated that the sugar production in the ongoing 2011-12 season will be 260 lakh tonne. Till June this year, 257 lakh tonne has been produced.

The industry body estimates that sugar production in secondlargest producer Uttar Pradesh will go up due to a gain in acreage. “The area under sugar cane in UP has increased from 22.52 lakh hectare last year to 24.25 lakh hectare. But the output in Maharashtra and Karnataka will decrease due to inadequate rainfall,” it said.

From about 90 lakh tonne in 2011-12, ISMA expects, Maharashtra’s production will slip to 76 lakh tonne. Maharashtra Cooperation Minister Harshvardhan Patil had announced in June that the state government expects the sugar production to decline to 80 lakh tonne in 2012-13 from 90 lakh tonne in the current season. However, sugar cane is being diverted on a large scale to fodder and the monsoon rainfall has been inadequate in the western Maharashtra region.

ISMA has termed it as preliminary estimates. In its release, ISMA has said: “Sugar production for 2012-13 season works out to be 250 lakh tonne, of which 78 lakh tonne is expected to be from UP, 76 lakh tonne from Maharashtra, 30 lakh tonne from Karnataka”