Better monsoon boosts sugarcane farming and drop in demand will be overcome 

Sugarcane farming in India has increased substantially in the current year as indicated by satellite images taken in June, 2020. In 2019-20, the total area of farming was about 48.41 lakh hectares which has increased by 8 percent to around 52.28 lakh hectares in 2020-21. 

This was discussed in the meeting of Indian Sugar Mills Association, ISMA on 25th June, 2020 where the images of the cane area, field reports regarding expected yield, sugar recovery, drawl percentage, impact of previous and current year’s rainfall, water availability in reservoirs, expected rainfall during monsoon 2020 and other related aspects were discussed. 

The increase in production of sugarcane and sugar is expected to come from Maharashtra and Karnataka where production had dropped due to drought in 2019-20. Sugar production in Uttar Pradesh, the leading sugarcane producing state in the country is estimated to be around 123.06 lakh tons.  

In Maharashtra, sugar production is estimated to be around 101.34 lakh tons and in Karnataka, around 43.13 lakh tons. Based on all the data, ISMA estimates sugar production of 320.13 lakh tons in 2020-21. Sugar export is estimated to about 60-70 lakh tons in 2020-21. Presently, the ex-mill sugar price has improved after lock down to around Rs.32-33.50 per kilogram.