Mills to produce less sugar

Two sugar mills, one in Thakurgaon and the other in Joypurhat, are set to produce a lower amount of sugar this year compared to last season as they have cut the volume of sugarcanes to be crushed, officials said.

Thakurgaon Sugar Mills started sugarcane crushing on December 24, while the crushing at Joypurhat Sugar Mills began on December 30.

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Initially, the production at the Thakurgaon factory was hampered for technical glitches. It returned to operation after experts from Dhaka fixed the glitches. Officials say glitches are common for the outdated machinery at the factory.

Authorities have set a target to crush more than 50,000 tonnes of sugarcane at the factory.

Some 36,000 tonnes of sugarcanes will come from the district, while the rest would be sourced from Dinajpur and Panchagarh. The quantity was much higher compared to last year's, said Abu Raihan, general manager (agro) of Thakurgaon Sugar Mills.

Around 3,750 tonnes of sugar to be produced this season. The recovery rate is 7.50 per cent, which is higher than last year's, according to officials.

They, however, are apprehensive of attaining the production target this year for the old machinery of Thakurgaon Sugar Mills as it hampers operation.

Joypurhat Sugar Mills will crush at least 30,000 tonnes of sugarcane this year, down from around 1.6 lakh tonnes last year. Around 1,800 tonnes of sugar will be produced this year with the recovery rate standing at 6.5 per cent.

Rabbik Hasan, managing director of Joypurhat Sugar Mills, said the factory would crush the sugarcanes that have been produced in the district alone.

The factory is not taking sugarcane from the catchment areas of Shyampur Sugar Mills in Rangpur and Rangpur Sugar Mills of Gaibandha as per a decision of state-run Bangladesh Sugar & Food Industries Corporation, he said.

Farmers in Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh, Natore, Rangpur, Gaibandha and Pabna suffered massive losses after the government suspended the operation of six mills in the middle of 2020.

The mills are Setabganj Sugar Mills in Dinajpur, Panchagarh Sugar Mills, Shyampur Sugar Mills, Rangpur Sugar Mills, Kushtia Sugar Mills, and Pabna Sugar Mills.

Farmers say the losses could have been averted had the mills procured their crops on time.

Because of the factory closures, most farmers have cut sugarcane production and shifted to other crops.