Performance, Evaluation and Management of a Cooperative Sugar Factory — The Case Study of Hutatma Kisan Ahir Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd, Walwa, Maharashtra

This paper has studied the management and performance of a cooperative sugar factory named Hutatma Kisan Ahir Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd, Walwa, based on the information obtained by personal interview of factory officials and data obtained from the annual reports for the 10-year period 2001–02 to 2010–11. The area under sugarcane available for crushing was observed highest in the year 2007–08 (7175 ha) and lowest in 201011 (4299 ha). The crushing efficiency was observed highest in 2010–11 (113%) with 181 days of working and capacity utilization was observed highest in 2006–07 (279%). For smooth functioning of factory, the management is divided into four major sections: agriculture, manufacturing, engineering and accounts. The total expenditure on sugar production has increased over time but, cost of sugarcane was always above 50 per cent. The share of income from sugar sale was observed to be 85–94 per cent during the period. A comparison of receipts and expenditure revealed that the factory earned highest profit in 2009–10 ( 505.30 lakh) and incurred highest loss in 2006–07 ( 1081.24 lakh). On the basis of break even analysis, the factory showed better performance in 8 out of 10 years studied. The growth rate of area in sugarcane has been found negative and non significant, but in sugar production, actual crushing of sugarcane has shown a significant effect during the period under study.