Crushing delay may not impact sugar output this season: Thomas

New Delhi, Dec 17. Sugar production, which is estimated at 241 lakh tonnes in the country, is expected to remain unaffected due to delay in commencement of sugarcane crushing, Parliament was informed today. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Food Minister K V Thomas said, "Delay in commencement of cane crushing may not have any significant impact on sugar production in the current sugar season which is estimated to be about 241 lakh tonnes." Due to financial problems, most of the private mills in Uttar Pradesh did not start crushing operations this year on time, expressing their inability to pay higher cane price fixed by the state government. They, however, commenced operations only after the state government announced some relief measures to millers. The Centre is also working on a bailout package for the industry to ensure cane payment to growers. However, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has said that sugar output has fell by 50 per cent to 24.24 lakh tonnes so far in the 2013-14 season due to the delay in crushing operations especially in Uttar Pradesh. The industry has pegged total sugar output at 250 lakh tonnes in the ongoing 2013-14 season (October-September), higher than the government estimate of 241 million tonnes. India, the world's second biggest sugar producer after Brazil, consumes about 235 lakh tonnes of sweetener a year.