“We expect sugar production to be more than 16 million tonne (MT) this year,” Pawar told reporters here after inaugurating Krishi Mela, organised by Indian Agricultural Research Institute. However, the output is still much short of the country’s annual demand of 23 MT.
“In Maharashtra, the wholesale price of sugar has come down to Rs 3,000 per quintal from Rs 4,600 per quintal in last 2-3 months,” he said.
At present, retail sugar price is ruling at Rs 39-40 a kg in many places, compared with Rs 23 a kg a year back.
Productivity of sugarcane has improved substantially in Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
(Published 04 March 2010, 18:56 IST)
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