India Likely to Record Sugar Surplus This Season

16-Dec-2025 12:57 PM

New Delhi: The central government says that India is likely to remain a surplus producer of sugar during the 2026-27 marketing season (October-September), similar to 2025-26, due to expected better sugarcane yields.

Addressing the second Millet Maize DDGS (Distillers Dried Grains Solubles) Ethanol Conference in Gurugram, Haryana, the Joint Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution stated that the domestic sugar production situation is continuously improving.

According to the Joint Secretary, the country is expected to produce a total of 343 lakh tonnes of sugar during the current 2025-26 marketing season (October-September), which is almost equal to the production estimate of 343.50 lakh tonnes made by ISMA.

Net domestic sugar production in the 2024-25 season was estimated at 261 lakh tonnes. According to the Joint Secretary, between 34 and 39 lakh tonnes of sugar may be used in ethanol production during the current 2025-26 season.

As a result, the industry will have a surplus stock of sugar, and therefore the government has allowed mills to export 15 lakh tonnes of sugar to manage the surplus stock and increase industry revenue.

At the beginning of the current 2025-26 marketing season, i.e., on October 1, 2025, the industry had a carry-over surplus stock of approximately 50 lakh tonnes of sugar, while about 309 lakh tonnes of net sugar production is expected during the season. This will bring the total availability to 359 lakh tonnes. Of this, 285 lakh tonnes will be consumed domestically.

The government has already allowed the export of 15 lakh tonnes of sugar. Thus, a total of 300 lakh tonnes will be utilized,

and a surplus stock of 59 lakh tonnes may remain with the industry at the end of the marketing season, i.e., on September 30, 2026. If the entire quantity of the allocated quota is not shipped, the sugar stock could increase even further.