Sugar production declined by 15.6 percent in the October-December quarter

03-Jan-2025 03:58 PM

In the October-December 2024 quarter, India's sugar production saw a significant decline of 15.6%, dropping to 95.40 lakh tonnes compared to 113.01 lakh tonnes in the same period in 2023.

This reduction is attributed to several factors, including a decrease in sugarcane crushing in some states, with more sugarcane diverted to ethanol production.

The use of sugarcane for ethanol is expected to increase dramatically in the current marketing season, reaching 40 lakh tonnes, up from 21.5 lakh tonnes last year. 

Additionally, the crushing of sugarcane began later in key producing states like Maharashtra and Karnataka, with fewer sugar mills operational this year (493 mills) compared to last year (512 mills).

Adverse weather conditions in December, including rains in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, also disrupted the supply of sugarcane to mills, further affecting production. 

While crushing rates improved in states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, sugar production in these states still declined.

Uttar Pradesh produced 32.80 lakh tonnes (down from 34.35 lakh tonnes in 2023), Maharashtra saw a drop from 38.20 lakh tonnes to 30 lakh tonnes, and Karnataka's production fell from 24.91 lakh tonnes to 20.40 lakh tonnes.