With the festive season approaching, sugar prices in the country have become a topic of discussion. Retail sugar prices have reached around Rs 60 per kg, while a few days ago, prices had crossed Rs 70 per kg in several places. The sharp rise in prices has raised concerns for the government, prompting it to approve zero-duty imports of raw sugar and urge Maharashtra’s sugar mills to start crushing 15 days earlier than usual.
The government hopes that early crushing will bring fresh sugar to the market sooner and help bring prices down. However, experts say the move could affect sugar recovery and may lead to losses for mills and farmers.
Maharashtra is India’s largest sugar-producing state, with areas such as Solapur and Marathwada among its major sugarcane-growing regions.
However, starting large-scale harvesting before October 25 could be difficult, according to former Maharashtra Sugar Commissioner Sanjay Bhosale, who spoke to Kisan Tak.
Most sugarcane harvesting in the state is still done by hand. Many workers travel to Maharashtra from Madhya Pradesh and other states for the harvest. They traditionally arrive after Dussehra and Diwali.
With Dussehra falling on October 20 this year and Diwali coming in November, bringing the harvest forward to October 15 could be difficult.
There is also a practical problem. Sugar mills need enough sugarcane before they can begin crushing. If sufficient cane is not available, mills may struggle to start operations early.
The biggest concern is the sugar recovery rate. Simply put, it shows how much sugar can be extracted from a given quantity of sugarcane.
Bhosale said that if crushing starts between October 15 and November 15, the recovery rate could fall below normal levels. In some cases, it could drop to 7-7.5%.
When crushing starts after November, recovery generally stays above 8 per cent. In the Solapur region, it can reach 8-11%.
Even a 3-4 percentage point drop in recovery can mean a significant financial loss for sugar mills. This raises a key question: why would mills take on the risk of losses simply to start crushing earlier?
The possible losses are not limited to sugar mills. Sugarcane needs enough time to mature properly, and harvesting it early can affect both its quality and weight.
Early harvesting could also reduce the number of cane sets obtained from the stem. This could make the move costly for both farmers and mills.
When sugarcane is of better quality, mills get higher sugar recovery and farmers can benefit through better payments. If the crop is harvested too early, however, farmers could face lower production as well as lower returns.
This is why farmer groups and regional experts are questioning whether farmers would be willing to support early harvesting if it could hurt their earnings.
There are also concerns about sugarcane productivity in Maharashtra this year. Several parts of the state have not received normal rainfall, and the impact of lower rainfall is visible on the crop.
While total sugarcane production may not necessarily fall sharply, productivity per hectare could be affected.
In such a situation, harvesting an already stressed crop before it has fully matured could make the problem worse.
The government’s expectation is straightforward: more supply should help control prices and provide relief to consumers.
But experts say early crushing alone may not guarantee an immediate fall in retail sugar prices.
If mills face losses because of lower sugar recovery, it remains unclear whether they would release large quantities of sugar into the market immediately. Even if more sugar becomes available, there is another question — will retail prices fall by the same amount?
For now, there are no clear answers.
The bigger challenge is finding a balance between consumer needs and the interests of farmers and sugar mills. Consumers need relief from high prices, but experts believe this should not come at the cost of farmers or the sugar industry.
The coming weeks will show whether early crushing can actually help bring sugar prices down or whether the move creates new financial pressure for the people producing it.