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Sugar mills wary of early crushing as Maharashtra weighs October 15 start
MSCSFF vice-chairman Pratap Ohal said many mills were reluctant to begin crushing on October 15 because of the likely impact of the Southwest Monsoon’s withdrawal on cane harvesting
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Sugar mills in Maharashtra are resisting the Centre’s push for an early start to the 2026-27 sugarcane crushing season, citing concerns over cane maturity, lower sugar recovery and financial losses. The state government is weighing whether to advance the start by 15 days to October 15 instead of the usual November 1, with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis expected to take the final call.
The state cooperative department has written to Fadnavis seeking a decision on the start date. The Centre recently advised all 10 sugar-producing states, including Maharashtra, to commence crushing by October 15 to ensure adequate sugar availability during the festive season.
The proposal has met resistance from several cooperative and private mills. Maharashtra’s crushing season generally runs for 150 to 165 days, starting on November 1.
“There is reluctance on the part of the management of both cooperative and private sugar mills in Maharashtra to prepone the crushing season for multiple reasons. The committee headed by the chief minister will take the final call on the issue soon,” official sources said.
State sugar commissioner Sanjay Kolte said the government would take the final decision. “We would intimate the management of all 210 cooperative and private sugar mills in the state once the decision is taken,” he said.
Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation (MSCSFF) vice-chairman Pratap Ohal said many mills were reluctant to begin crushing on October 15 because of the likely impact of the Southwest Monsoon’s withdrawal on cane harvesting.
“There is rain in different sugarcane-growing belts of Maharashtra during the withdrawal of the Southwest Monsoon between late September and mid-October. The fields are waterlogged, and harvesting cane would be challenging for farmers. Our apprehension is that mills might not have adequate cane for crushing during October,” Ohal said.
Former state minister Rajesh Tope, chairman of a cooperative sugar mill in Jalna district, said harvesting before the cane reached full maturity could hurt sugar recovery.
“The weather conditions are ideal for crushing to start in November in our state. If crushing starts from October 15, the recovery rate will be reduced by at least 1% since the cane will not be mature. It will impact sugar mills financially as production will be lower during those 15 days of October,” Tope said.
The recovery rate refers to the quantity of sugar produced from a given quantity of sugarcane. In Maharashtra, it is above 9%, meaning about 9 kg of sugar is produced from 100 kg of cane.
Tope said mills would have to follow the state government’s decision but demanded compensation from the Centre for losses arising from early crushing.
“The sugar mills will have to abide by the decision that the state government takes about the start of the crushing season. The sugar mills demand that the state government must impress upon the Centre to compensate the mills for the financial losses incurred due to early crushing,” he said.
Some MSCSFF members, however, raised a counter-concern: delaying the start of crushing could allow mills in neighbouring sugar-producing states such as Karnataka to procure cane from Maharashtra farmers.
“If the crushing season is not preponed, sugar mills in other states such as Karnataka could purchase cane from Maharashtra farmers. In that case, mills in Maharashtra could face a shortage of cane during the crushing season,” some federation members said.
They favoured an October 15 start, provided the Centre agrees to compensate mills for the lower sugar recovery expected from early harvesting.
