Maiia Commodity Management Pvt Ltd Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra

As on date, as per the latest crushing report of the Commissionerate, the mills have so far crushed some 371.08 lakh tonne cane to produce 416.53 lakh tonne sugar at a recovery rate of 11.23%. Senior officials of the Commissionerate said that the production may not cross 420 lakh tonne. This is among the shorter seasons in Maharashtra coming after two consecutive droughts.Factories in the Marathwada region were the first to shut down and closed operations by January-end, followed by mills in the Solapur region. Barely two mills are currently operational, which are likely to close down in a couple of days. Around 150 mills had participated in the crushing season….

The cultivation of Sona Masuri has declined over the years. The Sona Masuri will become shortage soon which is the most preferred variety for rice eaters in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka states. Out of 6.5 lakh hectares in the district, paddy is cultivated (Rabi and Kharif) in an extent of 1.7 lakh hectares in the district

Jute Packaging Materials Act (JPMA), 1987, as has been done for cement and fertilisers in the past. As of now, 20 per cent of the sugar has to be compulsorily packed in jute bags.Sugar mills have argued that the industry has to bear an additional burden of Rs 350 crore if the mandatory jute packaging order is continued for 2017-18. This concern is based on the premise that on an average, the price of jute sacks is up to 2.5 times more than high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bags. A 50-kg HDPE bag costs Rs 15-16 compared to Rs 50-51 of a jute sacking bag of the same capacity…