Sugar Production Expected to Be Satisfactory Next Year

18-Sep-2025 03:47 PM

New Delhi. Sugar production is expected to be better this year due to an increase of 1.63 lakh hectares in sugarcane sown area and favorable weather and rainfall conditions.

According to government data, the all-India sugarcane sown area has increased from 55.68 lakh hectares last year to 57.31 lakh hectares this year.

The increase in area is particularly significant in Maharashtra and Karnataka, while the area in Uttar Pradesh has decreased slightly.

The abundant rainfall during August has significantly benefited the sugarcane crop, and therefore, its average yield and sugar recovery rate are expected to improve.

ISMA has estimated a gross sugar production of 349 lakh tonnes in the 2025-26 marketing season. It remains to be seen how much of this sugar will be used for ethanol production.

The government has allowed the unlimited use of sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, B-heavy molasses, and C-heavy molasses for ethanol production, but since domestic sugar prices are high, millers may try to balance sugar and ethanol production.

The new marketing season for sugarcane crushing and sugar production is scheduled to begin next month, and mills have begun necessary preparations for this. However, in some districts of Maharashtra, fields are still flooded, which may delay sugarcane harvesting.

In other major sugar-producing states—Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana—suggestions have increased and decreased sugarcane acreage, and crop conditions are also varying.

Floods are also affecting Punjab and Haryana. Meanwhile, several districts of Bihar have been experiencing intermittent, heavy rainfall for the past three to four days. There is a possibility of some damage to the major sugarcane crop in Maharashtra. Sugar prices remain high.