Lumbini Sugar Mills, a gift of China to Nepal, closed down indefinitely Thursday because of cane shortage, management said. China gifted the Factory to Nepal 30 years ago. The Mill had a capacity to crush 1.5 million metric tons of cane every year. But the contractor could not supply the required 11,500 quintals of cane every day, the Mill said.
The Birgunj Sugar Mill in the public sector also recently closed down because of shortage of raw materials. The cane crushing season has just started with the end of the monsoon .