The Joypurhat Sugar Mills suspended operations on Thursday night due to a shortage of sugarcane, according to officials.
The mill started operating on December 30 last year to produce 1,866 tonnes of sugar by crushing 30,100 tonnes of sugarcane during its 25-day operational period.
But it produced 1,193 tonnes of sugar by crushing 23,169.16 tonnes of sugarcane in the last 19 days, the officials said.
Joypurhat Sugar Mills Managing Director Md Akhlasur Rahman said the supply of sugarcane was not enough to continue the production for the remaining six days.
"We got assurance that we will get sugarcane from Mahimaganj and Shyampur sugar mill areas outside the area under the control of this mill for crushing, but in the end, we did not get sugarcane from those areas," he said.
Therefore, the authorities suspended operation before the scheduled time due to the shortage of sugarcane, he added.
According to the mill sources, the largest state-owned sugar mill had suffered a loss of Tk 66.17 crore in the previous season.
Sugarcane production in the district is on the decline as growers are switching to other crops or are interested in producing molasses, sources said.
