Industry on track to meet production target of 29 million tonnes: Shree Renuka Sugars

Atul Chaturvedi, Executive Chairman of Shree Renuka Sugars is confident that the industry will meet its target of producing around 29 million tonne of sugar, despite challenges that have led to a recent country-wide drop in production.

Chaturvedi expects an additional 3.8 to 3.9 million tonne diverted towards ethanol production. "If the price increase for ethanol comes about, then there's no reason why we would not have more than four million tonnes of sugar getting diverted," he said.

The government has set a target of 15% diversion to ethanol this year, an increase from the previous year's achieved target of 12%. Chaturvedi suggested that the industry must contribute more than currently anticipated to meet this ambitious goal.

However, despite the challenges, he said, "We have still not revised our numbers."

Chaturvedi attributed the near 11% decline in sugar production pan-India to lower crop yields in both Karnataka and Maharashtra, while noting that Uttar Pradesh's performance remains satisfactory. There has been an increased resistance in sugar crane crushing by farmers this year due to loss of productivity from the rain-deficient monsoon.

Explaining the delay in ethanol price hikes, Chaturvedi pointed to recent state elections as a factor. He stated, "It was expected that the government would not like to do anything which could be inflationary as far as sugar values in the country are concerned."

However, with the elections now done , Chaturvedi expects the much awaited price adjustments to materialise soon.