Thursday, 28 April 2016

Drought-Hit Maharashtra Can Lead To Make India the Net Sugar Importer This Year

Mumbai: With consecutive three-years of drought in Maharashtra that is going through its most crucial period this year, sugar production is seen dropping over 40 percent. Maharashtra is the country’s largest sugar producing state and is likely to become the net imported of sugar in 2016-17.


Reports are that with dry irrigation in repeated years at Maharashtra, the country will ‘mark the first time the nation has been a net importer of the sweetener in four years.’ President of the Bombay Sugar Merchants Association, Ashok Jain, confirmed: “India will need to import next year due to a production shortfall.” “Drought has severely affected cane plantations in Maharashtra. The government should stop exports now to reduce import requirements in the next season,” Jain added.
According to the Met Office, India has been stroked with the worst heat and drought in recent years. Following water scarcity and disturbed weather phenomenon, Maharashtra failed to cultivate sugar cane even for the next financial year, starting from this October.


Baban Swami, a farmer from Latur district of Maharashtra, the most drought-affected district of the state, said: “Even for drinking water we are relying on water tankers. It wasn’t possible for anyone from our village to cultivate cane.” Reports are that the condition in the state ‘could help push overall output below consumption for the first time in seven years.’
With a history of boosting global sugar prices in the past, India is the biggest sugar consumer with a total of 25.7 million tones, including 8.5 million tons from Maharashtra alone.  The global supply deficit is going to rise with the Indian shortfall. “This could trigger a rally, although a lot depends on how much sugar India needs to import,” as said by a sugar trading firm from Singapore.



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