Out of the tunnel of Darkness….

For past three years the Sugar Industry was in the grip of recession. But both the State & Central Govt. came to its rescue. Thanks to the multiple measures like fixing minimum selling price for sugar, export subsidy, encouragement for ethanol production, buffer stock of sugar etc., industry could survive the crisis.

The sugar production in the 2018-2019 season was around 330 lakh tonnes. Additionally a surplus of 107 lakh tonnes was also available from the last season. Hence the total availability was at the level of 437 lakh tonnes.

However, the requirement for domestic market was just around 260 lakh tonnes. Due to the pressure of the excess availability (as high as 177 lakh tonnes), sugar prices started to decrease rapidly. But the central govt. intervened and stopped the downward trend by fixing minimum selling price.

On the other hand, due to drought conditions in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, A.P. & Tamilnadu, there will be a considerable reduction in sugar production. Moreover, the recent floods in Maharashtra and Karnataka will further affect the sugar production. Taking all this into account, the sugar production for the season 2019-2020 is estimated to be around 260 lakh tonnes. With the permission to produce ethanol from molasses and sugar cane juice, sugar production will decrease further. What is more, a deficit of around 45 lakh tonnes, is expected in the international market next year, which indicates a clear scope for exports. The net result of all these factors will be increased sugar prices and in turn improved economic condition of the sugar industry.

The industry was passing through a long, long tunnel of darkness, but now the dot of light at the end of the tunnel is clearly visible. Let us march ahead towards ‘light’ …towards the future that is bright.

Excess sugar in the ‘system’ is always an indication of diabetes. The irony was sugar industry itself had become ‘diabetic’ due to very heavy surplus of sugar ! It needed equally heavy dose of insulin – which was provided by nature and the government. Due to natural reduction in sugar production and thanks to the multiple government measures, the industry’s sugar level was back to normal. Undoubtedly  now the industry is in real ‘healthy condition’ economically.