Sugar Industry Analysis

Introduction
Sugarcane is an important crop in the tropics and subtropics, and remains one of the major contributors to the Indian economy and generating employment for the rural youth. The sugar industry is amongst the few industries that have successfully contributed to the rural economy in an era where there is a need for inclusive growth. It has done so by commercially utilizing the rural resources to meet the large domestic demand for sugar and by generating surplus energy to meet the increasing energy needs of India. In addition to this, the industry has become the mainstay of the alcohol industry. The sector supports over 50 million farmers and their families, and delivers value addition at the farm side. In general, sugarcane price

India remains a key growth engine for world sugar, growing above the Asian consumer and the world growth medium. Perishability of the cane, small farm lands and the need to influence domestic prices; all have been the drivers for regulations. In India, too, sugar is highly regulated. Since 1993, the regulator environment has considerably diminished, but sugar is still essential element merchandise under the Essential Commodity Act. There are regulations throughout the demarcation of the entire value chain of the land, the price of sugarcane, acquiring sugarcane sugar production and sale of sugar mills in domestic and international markets.

The sugar industry's shared vision is a reflection of the aspirations of key stakeholders: farmers, millers, consumers and the government. The sector has a vision for achieving high economic growth, minimizing risks, enhancing farmer miller relationships, meeting growing domestic demand and contributing to the nation's food and energy

Maharashtra accounts for one third of the total Sugar production in India. In 2010-11, the state had Sugar Cane cultivation in area of 10.22 Lakh hectares. This has increased to 10.43 Lakh hectares in the year 2011-12. Increasing area under cultivation consequently, requires larger work force for the harvesting and transportation of sugarcane.
However in recent years the sugar industry is facing a major shortage of labourers for the purpose of harvesting and transportation of cane. Due to various Government initiatives like educational facilities, alternate employment options available for workers, changes in lifestyle due to improved social & educational standard, day by day the number of labourers is decreasing in the state. As such, the Sugar factories in the state are facing a labour crunch. The pace of growth of sugar manufacturing has been massive over the past few years. The latest statistics of sugar production in Maharashtra indicates that this state this doing better than the other states in the country. The Sugar industry in Maharashtra is highly popular in the cooperative sector, as farmers own a portion in the sugar factories. The Maharashtra Sugar Industry has seen a spectacular growth owing to the different conducive in the state. One of the chief crops manufactured in Maharashtra is sugarcane, with a host of sugar industries