Aug 24 2009 3:43PM
MUMBAI, Aug 24 (Reuters) - The sugarcane producing belt in India's western Maharashtra state has received good rainfall in the last three days and that will help in growth of the crop, two senior officials said on Monday.
"Since Friday, Madhya Maharashtra has been receiving good rains, especially Kolhapur, Satara and Pune districts," said a senior official at India Meteorological Department's (IMD) Pune office.
The Madhya, or central part of the state, the main cane producing region, received 20 percent below normal rains since the beginning of monsoon season in June, IMD said on Thursday.
Weather department on Monday forecast rain and thundershowers at many places over Madhya Maharashtra in next five days.
"At this stage, crop needs rains for vegetative growth. They are very useful and will help in improving yields," a senior official at state government's Sugar Commissionerate office told Reuters. "Besides they will improve water level in dams."
Cane is a water-intensive perennial crop and farmers in the state rely on dams to irrigate the crop after the monsoon season.
As on Monday, water level in main dams like Koyana, Dhom and Radhanagari stood at 83, 63 and 99 percent of their total capacity respectively, data with the state government's water resources department showed.
Maharashtra, the biggest sugar producer in the country, is likely to produce 4.7 million tonnes in the year to September 2010, slightly higher compared to 4.6 million tonnes produced a year ago, industry officials said earlier this month.
India's sugar output in 2009/10 is expected to reach 16-17 million tonnes, far lower than the initially estimated of 20 million tonnes, industry officials say.
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