Punjab: Sugarcane crushing will start from November 25

Punjab: The government has announced that sugarcane crushing in the state will begin from November 25. The decision was taken at a meeting of the State Sugarcane Control Board here today. The meeting was chaired by Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian. Khudian said Punjab has witnessed a 5 per cent increase in sugarcane crop area. This year, sugarcane has been cultivated in 1 lakh hectare, up from about 95,000 hectares last year. Punjab has 15 sugar mills (nine cooperative and six private mills) which are expected to crush about 700 lakh quintals of sugarcane. He said the state is estimated to produce 62 lakh quintals of sugar this season. He directed the officials to ensure that all arrangements are completed before the start of crushing operations, while stressing that farmers should not face any inconvenience in selling their produce and getting timely payments.