DECCAN Sugars, a company of the Nava Bharat Ferro Alloys Ltd group, has entered the retail market this month by introducing branded sugar and it hopes to make a mark in the field as one of the few sugar factories to have done so in the country.

After the launch of the product here on Monday, Mr N. Prabhakar, General Manager, said at a press meet that the sugar factory, at Samalkot in East Godavari district, was one of the oldest in the country, established in 1898 during the British regime.

Initially, it used to produce palm gur (jaggery) and later sugar production was taken up.

It was acquired by the Nava Bharat Ferro Alloys group in 1972 and gradually the crushing capacity of the plant was increased to 2,500 tonnes per day. In the next couple of years, it would be raised to 4,000 TPD. He said the factory was getting enough cane from the zone and also a little extra from the factory zone of Kiralampudi Sugars at Pithapuram in East Godavari which was not functioning.

"We are crushing 4 lakh tonnes of cane at our capacity and we may need 2 lakh tonnes more after capacity expansion. We are sure of getting the cane from the area," he said.

He said Deccan Sugars was one of the few sugar factories, hardly nine or so out of the 440 units, who had entered the retail market and was the first in the State.

"The market is quality-conscious nowadays and we will offer good product to the customers at Rs 17.20 a kg (MRP)," he said. Initially, some discount would be offered. He said two grades were being launched - S 31 and M 31 - under the brand name 'Deccan'.

He said the recovery rate was 10.6 per cent and Deccan Sugars was in the fifth position in the State. Mr Prabhakar said that the Nava Bharat Ferro Alloys group had a total turnover of Rs 430 crore, of which the sugar division accounted for Rs. 65 crore.

He said there was a glut in the sugar market and many factories both in the private and co-operative sectors were unable to clear the arrears to farmers, but Deccan Sugars was paying the farmers promptly.

Mr R. Sudhakar, Manager-Personnel and Administration, said the factory was giving incentives to farmers to produce better quality cane and introducing new varieties to improve the recovery rate further.