Sugar Output Down Despite Rising Cane Production

22-Nov-2025 11:17 AM

New Delhi. Latest data from the Union Agriculture Ministry shows that sugarcane production improved from 4531.58 lakh tonnes in the 2023-24 season to 4546.11 lakh tonnes in the 2024-25 season.

Although last year's rainfall deficiency and drought affected sugarcane crops in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, leading to a slight reduction in the area under cultivation, the situation in Uttar Pradesh was relatively better.

According to official central data, domestic sugarcane production had previously jumped sharply to an all-time high of 4905.33 lakh tonnes in the 2022-23 season, leading to a significant increase in sugar production. Sugarcane production was recorded at 4394.25 lakh tonnes in the 2021-22 season and 4053.99 lakh tonnes in the 2020-21 season.

During the 2024-25 marketing season (October-September), sugar mills in Maharashtra and Karnataka, as well as Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, were unable to obtain adequate quantities of raw material (sugarcane) for crushing and processing, and the crushing season ended early.

Furthermore, the average recovery rate from sugarcane also declined. Sugar production, which had reached a robust 31.9 million tons in the 2023-24 marketing season, declined to 26.1 million tons in the 2024-25 season. Production is now projected to rise again to 30.9 million tons in the current 2025-26 marketing season.