BENGALURU: The worry of water and rainfall deficit is not limited to farmers and the Karnataka government alone -- it has now become a matter of concern for all states.
The drought-like situation and water crisis in Karnataka and Maharashtra were discussed at the all-India meeting of cane and sugar commissioners in Delhi on Thursday. It was pointed out that due to a poor southwest monsoon, the area under cane cultivation has come down, which will impact the quality of sugarcane and sugar production.
Karnataka is the third largest sugar producer in India, after Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. Around 10 per cent of India’s sugar demand is met by Karnataka. “This year, because of poor rainfall, there is already a 10-15 per cent deficit in cane production, which will increase if the situation continues. There will be a shortage of sugar production in the coming days and this could also lead to a rise in sugar prices,” Karnataka officials present at the meeting, told TNIE.
According to farmers and officials from the Directorate of Sugarcane Development and Sugar, last year was a bumper year for cane farmers in the state. But now the area under cultivation has come down, so cane production and sugar yield will also come down.
Last year, the area under cultivation in Karnataka was 7.5 lakh hectares and has reduced by one lakh hectares this year. While 705 lakh tonnes of cane was produced last year, this year’s expectation is 520 lakh tonnes. Last year, yield per hectare was 94 tonnes, this year, it’s expected to be around 80 tonnes; 6.10 crore tonnes of cane was crushed last year, and 4-5 crore tonnes are expected to be crushed this year.
“Only in South Karnataka, planting of sugarcane happens twice a year -- late July and October/ November. In the rest of India, planting is done in October/ November. These regions will also face deficit rainfall and poor power supply. Farmers who planted crops in July are seeing no growth, some are selling it as produce, instead of supplying it to crushing units, which will also have an impact on the sugar market,” said an official.