Maha sugar production to fall in 2022-23 due to excessive rain: Official

Sugar production in Maharashtra may fall from 137.28 lakh tonnes in 2021-22 to 124 lakh tonnes in 2022-23 due to adverse climatic conditions in different parts of the state, a top official has said.

Continuous rains rendered the ground wet for long periods which impacted sugarcane cultivation, Sugar Commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad told PTI on Saturday.

"As a result, the production will be going down in Maharashtra in the ongoing season. Earlier, we estimated 138 lakh tonnes production when the crushing season started. Now, it should be around 124 lakh tonnes. We have conveyed the updated figures of production to the central government," he said.

"The crushing season will be over early as compared to last year. In the last crushing season, factories worked till the start of the monsoon. Now, it will end up by April end. A total of 199 factories are currently operational in the state," the official said.

The crushing in Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur districts will be over by March end and in