With start of Sugarcane harvesting season, the supply of Baggase has started arriving to Particle Board industry located in Gujarat and Maharashtra. Particle Board producers are in hurry forgetting access to raw materials and stocking as much possible. The hurry is creating a price rise in bagasse raw material segment in Gujarat.
It is noted that production at particle board plants is on almost halt from last two months because of non-availability of sugarcane waste (baggase) for making boards. Gujarat based Particle Board producers hope that supply of finished board will be smoother after mid of November and thus they have started taking new orders.
Industry sources say that they hope to get sufficient quantity of raw material this year because of very good harvesting of sugarcane crop. Although industry does have adequate facility to stock raw material for a year and there are lots of challenges to keep raw material safe as many fire incidents reported every year in bagasse based particle board manufacturing facilities.
The industry also opines that the bagasse prices are much higher this harvesting season because Gujarat based sugarcane mill owners are quoting 25 to 30 % higher rates compared to last year harvest season. Whereas report from Maharashtra suggests that they are getting material at comfortable prices and board producers from Gujarat are buying materials from here.
The industry may then be able to procure sufficient quantity of Bagasse in current sugarcane harvesting season because sugarcane crop is bumper this time hints ground reports from Maharashtra and Gujarat. There is hope that Maharashtra, UP government may shut power plants that are running from costly Bagasse as Governments are looking at cheaper sources for power generation such as solar energy etc. If it happens, it can boost big prospects for Bagasse based Particle Boards in these states. Although there is capacity addition in Baggase based Particle Board in Gujarat, Maharashtra and North India as some new manufacturing units have been commissioned in last two years, which have added approx 1000 cubic meter per day capacity.