Mills produce 9.85 lakh tonnes sugar so far this yr: ISMA

Mills have produced two lakh tonnes more sugar at 9.84 lakh tonnes in the first one-and- half-month period of 2012-13 marketing year that started from October, due to higher crushing in Karnataka, industry body ISMA said today.

Sugar production stood at 7.76 lakh tonne in the year-ago period, it said in a statement.

"The higher production of around two lakh tonne is mainly on account of higher production from sugar mills in Karnataka," Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said.

Sugar mills in Karnataka have already produced 4.20 lakh tonnes of sugar so far this year against 2.37 lakh tonnes in the same period last year, it said.

As on November 15, only 178 mills had started crushing operations across the country compared to 215 mills in the year-ago period.

In Maharashtra, country's largest sugar producing state, 93 mills were under operation instead of 95 mills in the last year, while in Karnataka, 49 mills had started crushing operation against 48 in the year-ago period.

However in Uttar Pradesh, the country's second biggest sugar producing state, only three mills were operating as on November 15 against 43 sugar mills in the same period last year, ISMA said.

The industry body said the delay in crushing operation in Uttar Pradesh was mainly because of Diwali festival.

ISMA maintained the country's total sugar output at 240 lakh tonnes for the current marketing year, against 260 lakh tonnes in 2011-12.