With 520 mills ending crushing of sugarcane after the season started on October 1, 2025, India’s sugar production may be around 28 million tonnes (mt) in 2025-26, industry experts said. The production has reached 27.5 mt until April 15 and crushing may soon end in the currently operational 19 mills, including six in Uttar Pradesh.
Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) on Thursday released the update on sugar production where it mentioned that as of April 15, sugar production reached 27.48 mt, compared with 25.5 mt on the corresponding date last year, which is 8 per cent higher. A total of 19 factories are currently operational, versus 38 mills operating at the same time last year, it said.
A few mills in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will operate in the special season from June/July, ISMA said, which could add up to 0.3 mt in the overall production.
“As only 19 factories are operating, sugar production is unlikely to exceed 28 mt. As ethanol supplied to OMCs till March is reportedly 2.1 mt (in terms of sucrose diverted), it is unlikely to hit 3 mt for the season. But as export demand from Afghanistan, African countries and Sri Lanka is robust, sugar exports are likely to reach 1 mt,” said industry expert GK Sood.
Industry seeks MSP revision
Another industry body -- National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd (NFCSF) -- said a day earlier that sugar output in Maharashtra, the top producer, rose 23 per cent to 9.92 mt as on April 15, as against 8.06 mt year-ago. In Karnataka, the third largest producer, production has increased 17 per cent to 4.71 mt from 4.04 million tonne. But in Uttar Pradesh, which is the second largest sugar producer, this year it has declined 2 per cent to 8.92 mt from 9.1 mt.
ISMA said that at present, six mills are operational, compared to 22 mills year-ago in Uttar Pradesh, which may, industry experts said, end crushing in 7-10 days.
As the sugar season nears its close, the industry is seeking an early revision of the Minimum Selling Price (MSP), it said adding the rising production costs and weak ex-mill realisations are straining mill cash flows and increasing cane payment arrears.
“A timely MSP revision, aligned with current cost structures, is essential to restore financial viability, enable prompt farmer payments, and stabilise the market—without any additional fiscal burden on the government,” ISMA said.
Ethanol procurement
Stressing on the need to accelerate ethanol blending amid rising crude oil prices and evolving geopolitical conditions, ISMA said the government may consider advancing a roadmap beyond E20 towards higher blends such as E22, E25, E27 and E85/E100, as India now has an estimated production capacity of around 2,000 crore litres of ethanol (including from grain-based distilleries). It also requested for faster rollout of flex-fuel vehicles (FFVs) and GST rationalisation to support their adoption.
“Further, the lack of revision in ethanol procurement prices for sugarcane-based feedstocks and lower allocation to the sector have created a mismatch between installed capacity and domestic offtake, leading to underutilised distillation capacity and inventory build-up,” it said seeking a timely price revision in future.
According to NFCSF data, the all India average sugar recovery (sugar produced out of sugarcane) was higher at 9.55 per cent till April 15 of this season as against 9.37 per cent a year ago. For instance, at 10 per cent recovery, a mill will be able to produce 10 kg sugar out of crushing 100 kg (1 quintal) sugarcane.
Published on April 16, 2026