Sugar mills in western Maharashtra are in a tight spot as the crushing season has kicked off early across the border in Karnataka. Karnataka Sugar Minister Shivanand Patil allowed early crushing, warning that delayed harvesting could lower sugar recovery and reduce farmer income. In contrast, Maharashtra has set November 1 as the official start date for the crushing season. The Directorate has directed any mills that have begun crushing early to halt operations immediately. “Since mills in Karnataka are accepting cane, farmers here don’t want to wait and risk losing recovery.”Millers in Maharashtra had been urging the state government to allow crushing from October 15, citing readiness and fear of losing cane to Karnataka.