NEW DELHI (Commoditiescontrol) - Prices of sugar remained mostly subdued in most wholesale markets across the country on Friday due to sluggish demand from the bulk buyers and selling pressure on mills.
As per traders, people mostly use jaggery for Makar Sankranti in Maharashtra and now that it is over. Demand is not much and even wedding season consumption is not rising.
Furthermore, mills are also offloading their stocks at lower rates to exhaust their monthly quota.
Meanwhile, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said on Friday that the country's sugar production was down 26.15 percent at 108.85 lakh tonnes till January 15 in the ongoing marketing year/season 2019-20 from 147.40 lakh tonnes during the same period a year ago.
"As compared to 511 sugar factories which were crushing sugarcane last year on 15th January, 2019, 440 sugar mills are crushing sugarcane on 15th January, 2020 this year," ISMA said in a release.
Uttar Pradesh, the leading sugar producing State, reported sugar production of 43.78 lakh tonnes so far. This is 1.85 lakh tonnes more than that in the corresponding period last sugar season.
"In Maharashtra, 139 sugar mills, which are in operation, have produced 25.51 lakh tonnes till 15th January, 2020, as against 189 sugar mills which had produced 57.25 lakh tonnes last year upto same period. As per reports of Commissioner (Sugar), Maharashtra, three sugar mills, one each in Ahmednagar, Aurangabad and Beed Districts have closed their operations mainly due to non-availability of labour for harvesting and less availability of sugarcane," ISMA said.