Goa govt to decide soon on shutting loss-making sugar factory

The Goa government is studying the feasibility of continuing with its lone sugar factory, which is making losses, and will make a decision on it in a month, Cooperative Minister Govind Gawade said on Wednesday. Responding to a question tabled by Congress MLA Pratapsinh Rane in the Goa Assembly, Gawade said the state-run factory, located at Usgao village in North Goa district, has incurred losses to the tune of Rs 101 crore.

The factory faced an annual loss of Rs 8.71 crore last year due to several issues, including scarcity of sugarcane in the state, he said. "The state government is examining the possibility of repairing the plant or setting up a new one or shutting it down forever. We will make the decision on it within a month," he informed.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the House that sugarcane farmers would not be put to inconvenience even if the factory is shut, as the government is intending to have a tie-up with factories from neighbouring states. Gawade further said the state government has been trying to revive the factory by approaching experts, like the Pune-based Vasantdada Sugar Institute and National Sugar Institute at Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

"We even had a plan of renovating factory at a cost of Rs 35 crore, but the question remains whether it will come out of the red after doing all this or still continue incurring losses," he said.