Facing losses, Palwal sugar mill yet to start jaggery production

Palwal, February 6

The production of jaggery at the Haryana Government-owned cooperative sugar mill here hasn’t started yet and the operations may be discontinued this year. Sources in the Co-operation Department claimed that the decision had been taken due to huge losses.

Operations not abandoned

The mill has not abandoned jaggery-related operations. But no production target or deadline has been set so far. Nearly 12 lakh quintals of cane has been received and the mill has produced 1.09 lakh quintals of sugar till February 5. Shashi Vasundhara, MD of the mill

Crushing season delayed

The mill has accrued losses to the tune of several lakhs in wake of poor demand, delay in start of the crushing season and highly competitive market. The authorities concerned have decided not start the production of jaggery. A Co-operation Department official

“The mill has accrued losses to the tune of several lakhs in wake of poor demand, delay in start of the crushing season and highly competitive market. The authorities concerned have decided not to start the production of jaggery,” an official of the department said.

The project was started in the fiscal 2020-21. Haryana Cooperation Minister Dr Banwari Lal had announced production of jaggery and its powder at mills located at Palwal, Meham and Kaithal in November 2020. According to sources, the mill has suffered a loss to valued at Rs 50 lakh due to poor sale in the past two years. The mill was selling jaggery at the rate of Rs 50 per kg.

An official, working at the mill, said, “When the operations started, the jaggery was salty. Last year, the quality of the product was improved, but this failed to ensure expected sales. The taste of jaggery depends on sugarcane quality as no chemical is used in the cleansing process of juice (as done in sugar production).”

Claiming that the mill has not abandoned operations, Shashi Vasundhara, managing director of the mill, said no production target or deadline has been set so far. She added around 12 lakh quintals of cane has been received so far and the mill had produced around 1.09 lakh quintals of sugar till February 5.

“The recovery rate and capacity utilisation has been 9.6 and 85.23 per cent, respectively. The mill has reduced its losses by 0.14 per cent this year as compared to last year,” Vasundhara said. Last year, the mill had crushed a total of 17.26 quintals of sugarcane and produced 1.47 lakh quintals of sugar.

The mill serves the districts of Palwal, Faridabad, Nuh and Gurugram. The crushing season here started on December 2, 2022 and is expected to continue till April end.

Serves 4 districts

• Last year, the mill had crushed 17.26 quintals of sugarcane and produced 1.47 lakh quintals of sugar
• The mill serves the four districts of Palwal, Faridabad, Nuh and Gurugram