Maharashtra state produced 74.7 lakh tonnes (LT) of sugar between October 1 to April 15 in the 2013-14 sugar season, as per report compiled by the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA). This is about 6% lower as compared to 79.1 LT of sugar produced up to the same period last year.
As compared to 14 sugar mills operating at this time last year, there are 53 sugar mills which are still crushing sugarcane in Maharashtra. Another 3-3.5 LT of sugar is expected to be produced by the sugar mills in Maharashtra during the current sugar season.
The Maharashtra sugar mills have crushed 656 LT of sugarcane up to April 15, 2014 at an average recovery of 11.4%, which is slightly lower than 695 LT of sugarcane crushed last year up to same period, though at the same recovery rate as that in the current season.