North Bengal Sugar Mill in Lalpur Starts Cane Crushing on October 30, Target 11,700 Tonnes of Sugar

Cane crushing for the current season will begin on October 30 at the North Bengal Sugar Mill, located at Gopalpur in Lalpur upazila of Natore.

The mill authorities have set a target of producing 11,700 tonnes of sugar by crushing 180,000 tonnes of sugarcane this season.

Mill officials said the sugar recovery target for the season has been set at 6.5 percent and the crushing operation will run for 125 days.

State Minister for Social Welfare Barrister Farzana Sharmin is expected to inaugurate the crushing programme, mill officials said.

To encourage farmers to grow cane, the price has been raised by 26 taka per quintal compared with last season. The purchase price is now 651 taka per quintal at the mill gate and 637 taka 46 paisa at the cane collection centres.

Sugarcane has been cultivated on about 18,000 acres of land in the mill area this year. The government has given a total incentive of 2 crore 71 lakh taka to 5,454 cane farmers to encourage early cane cultivation using improved methods.

The mill's Managing Director Mohammad Farid Hossain Bhuiya said a water trial was carried out on Saturday (October 24) to check the factory's cleanliness and operation as part of preparations for the crushing season. The boiler firing was completed earlier on October 9, and steam produced from the boiler will run the crushing operation throughout the season.