Crushing sugarcane to make molasses is now a common sight in different areas of Thakurgaon district as many farmers, despite agreement with sugar mills to supply the item, are selling it to molasses producers for more profit. PHOTO: STAR

Two sugar mills in Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts are going to start their cane crushing season today in spite of large stocks of unsold sugar in their warehouses.

Thakurgaon Sugar Mill is burdened with about 12,000 metric tones of unsold sugar of their last three seasons while Panchagarh Sugar Mill has unsold sugar of about 8,000 tonnes of last two seasons.

Both the sugar mills will start their operation today for the current crushing season. 

The authorities of the two mills have been facing loss and acute space crisis due to the previous years' stocks of unsold sugar of about 20,000 tonnes worth Tk 74 crore, said officials. 

The situation is likely to cause shortage of sugarcane in the new crushing season starting today. PHOTO: STAR

The situation will further deteriorate during the upcoming cane crushing season as the authorities are already facing trouble with huge quantities of unsold sugar, they said.

In 2013-2014, 2012-13, and 2011-12 crushing seasons, Thakurgaon Sugar Mill produced 8,090 tonnes, 5,468 tonnes and 6,300 tonnes of sugar while only 7,790 tonnes were sold.

Panchagarh Sugar Mill produced 6,191 tonnes, 4,401 tonnes and 4,363 tonnes of sugar in the same three crushing seasons while only 6,955 tonnes were sold.

Huge quantity of sugar from previous seasons is lying unsold at Panchagarh Sugar Mills although the new crushing season for sugarcane starts today. Photo: Star

Thakurgaon Sugar Mill has fixed a production target of 5,800 metric tonnes of sugar by crushing 80,000 tonnes of sugarcanes with a recovery rate of 7.2 percent this season while Panchagarh Sugar Mill has targeted to produce 5,600 metric tonnes of sugar by crushing 85,000 metric tonnes of sugarcanes with a recovery rate of 7.00 per cent.  

Yakub Ali, a dealer, told this corrpeondent over cell phone that the dealers of Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industries Corporation are unwilling to draw sugar from the two state-owned mills as their rate is Tk 37 per kg at mill gate whereas sugar is now available in the retail market at Tk 35/36 a kg. Besides, consumers prefer imported sugar and that of private mills as they look fresher, he said.

Contacted, Managing Director of Thakurgaon Sugar Mill SM Abdul Aziz said, huge sugar lying unsold at the mill's warehouses as the importers set the prices lower than state-owned mills.

The government should increase the import duty on sugar to save the state-owned sugar mills, he suggested.

Replying to a query, the MD further said that salary disbursement and payment to cane growers became irregular as the unsold sugar led to the mill's fund crisis. 

Besides, the authorities of the expressed concern as the farmers are showing a tendency to sell their sugarcanes to local illegal molasses producers as they get better price of sugarcanes from them.  

During a recent visit to different villages including Mohammadpur, Begunbari, Danarhat in Thakurgaon Sadar upazila and Munshipara, Kosadangipara Pirganj upazila this correspondent saw a good number of illegal molasses producers were producing molasses buying sugarcanes from the farmers who had signed agreement with the sugar mill and also took loan from the mill.