Sugar mills across western Maharashtra are facing mounting pressure as sugarcane from key producing districts is now moving steadily to mills in neighbouring Karnataka, where the crushing season has begun ahead of schedule. With Karnataka authorising mills in Belagavi, Vijayapura, and Bidar to commence operations earlier than usual, farmers in Kolhapur, Sangli, Solapur, Dharashiv, and Latur have started transporting their harvest across the border to secure faster payments and protect sugar recovery levels.

The early start in Karnataka is being positioned as an efficiency move: harvesting delays tend to lower sucrose content in the cane, which in turn reduces sugar recovery and income for growers. Farmers in the border regions have therefore begun cutting cane sooner than usual, supported by the early arrival of cane-cutting labour groups from Marathwada.

In contrast, Maharashtra has fixed November 1 as the official start date for crushing. State officials argue that heavy rains in September affected field conditions, slowed transport and logistics planning, and justified a uniform start date to ensure mill readiness. The Sugar Directorate has cautioned mills in the state against premature operations and has instructed those who attempted early crushing to stop.

Sugar mill operators in Maharashtra have been pressing the government to allow crushing from mid-October, warning that any delay risks pushing cane into Karnataka and weakening the raw material supply needed to operate mills at sustainable capacity levels through the season. The concern is not only about immediate availability, but about the strategic balance of cane supply over the entire crushing period, which influences mill recovery rates, bagasse allocation for cogeneration, ethanol blending commitments, and seasonal financial performance.

Farmer organisations in Maharashtra are urging growers to pace supply more carefully. Their position is that if mills face tighter cane availability later in the season, farmers could gain stronger bargaining leverage on pricing. They are also calling for a premium above the Fair and Remunerative Price to compensate for higher input costs and production losses linked to erratic weather patterns through the year.

The situation highlights how interconnected state-level decisions are in India’s sugar economy. Variations in crushing start dates, weather conditions, labour availability, and recovery-linked pricing can rapidly alter supply flows across state borders. As the season unfolds, Maharashtra’s response — whether through revised timelines, pricing assurances, or procurement strategies — will shape whether its mills enter the new cycle with secure cane supply or face structural shortages that could ripple across the cooperative-dominated sector.