Sweet burden: Maharashtra mills produce 1,053.44 lakh quintal of sugar
50 per cent of this comes from two regions, Kolhapur and Pune
This sugar season, 190 sugar mills including 95 private and 95 cooperative, have crushed 1,004.71 lakh tonnes of sugarcane, which is the highest ever in the history of Maharashtra State, surpassing the about 954 lakh tonnes cane crushed in the complete 2017-18 season. Together, mills in the State have produced 1,053.44 lakh quintal of sugar; 28 sugar mills still continue operations.
Kolhapur and Pune regions dominate the sugar chart in the State. These two regions, considered as the sugar bowl of the State, have crushed 46 per cent sugarcane to produce 50 per cent of the total sugar produced in Maharashtra. Drought-prone regions of Aurangabad, Nanded, Amravati and Nagpur have produced 197 lakh quintal sugar, which is 19 per cent of the total State sugar production. A total of 53 mills had started crushing operations in these drought-prone regions.
Punjab Govt pays ₹10,085 cr online directly to farmers for wheat buy
The Centre has made it compulsory for States to make direct bank transfers to farmers for the foodgrains procured
The Punjab government has procured 84.15 lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat during the ongoing rabi marketing season and has remitted ₹10,085 crore into farmers’ accounts directly through online payment for the purchase.
“Till Sunday, we have transferred ₹10,085 crore to farmers through direct bank transfer,” Punjab Principal Secretary K A P Sinha told BusinessLine. The State plans to procure a total of 130 lt of wheat from Punjab’s farmers this season, he said.
Wheat procurement tops 222 lakh tonnes
Nearly 22 lakh wheat farmers received close to ₹44,000 crore in procurement payments this season
Food Corporation of India and other procurement agencies have procured 222.33 lakh tonnes (lt) of wheat till Sunday during the current rabi marketing season against 77.57 lt in the corresponding period last year, an official statement said on Monday.
Punjab, which witnessed some initial hiccups due to the protest by commission agents in the State, surpassed other States and managed to procure as much as 84.15 lt till Sunday. Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, which commenced procurement early, on the other hand, notched up 71.76 lt and 51.57 lt, respectively.
