Low crush figures for Diwali week

[posted 16 Nov 2010,1300]

Despite mill workers being ordered by FSC to work during the Diwali holiday- the first since Diwali was proclaimed a public holiday - the four mills ended the week with a dismal crush record of 62,000 tonnes of cane producing less than 4000 tonnes of sugar.

The information, obtained from FSC sources, shows that it took over 15 tonnes of cane to manufacture a tonne of sugar.

Many mill workers for whom Diwali is of great significance expressed disappointment at being ordered to work on their religious holiday.

None of the mills has been operating since the week-end because of extremely wet weather conditions which have caused disruptions to harvesting and transporting of cane. Mill breakdowns earlier in the week, also contributed to the low crush figures.

So far, 1.455 million tonnes of cane have been crushed leaving some 300,000 tonnes yet to be harvested. Observers say that the onset of the rainy season is likely to result in a standover cane of around 150,000 tonnes by the time the mills stop crushing later this month.

Surendra Lal