Sugar output up 25% in first 2 months at 119 lakh tonnes

Bengaluru: India’s sugar mills have recorded a robust 25% growth in sugar production so far this season, at 119 lakh tonnes as of December 31, 2025. The mills across the country commenced crushing sugarcane for the current season (October 2025 to September 2026) from November onwards. During the same period, last year, the sugar production was 95 lakh tonnes.

Good weather conditions and availability of ample water across the growing states has resulted in higher sugarcane production this year. The mills have reported improvement in yield and increase in the recovery of sugar, said Deepak Ballani, Director General of Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA).

“There has been a substantial increase in sugar production this year and states like Maharashtra are showing a phenomenal increase this year. Till date, Maharashtra has produced around 49 lakh tonnes, compared to 30 lakh tonnes last year, a phenomenal growth of 62% over the same period last year. And there is an improvement in UP and Karnataka also,” Ballani told DH.

Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have produced 36 lakh tonnes and 23 lakh tonnes of sugar, respectively, in the first two months of the current season. The area under sugarcane has increased marginally to 57.35 lakh hectares, as against 57.11 lakh hectares in the previous year. 

The season is progressing well and the industry had anticipated a total sugar production of around 343.5 lakh tonnes in this season. After taking 34 lakh tonnes for ethanol diversion, approximately 309 lakh tonnes of production is projected in 2025-26 season, a growth of 4.5% over the same period last year. The production stood at 295 lakh tonnes during this period last year, he said.

During the 2024-25 sugar season, the country’s sugar production stood at 261.24 lakh tonnes. This year, 504 sugar mills have commenced cane crushing as against 492 mills in the same period last year.