Despite record sugarcane production, sugar mills are facing inadequate supply

11-Mar-2026 07:43 PM

New Delhi. Although the Union Agriculture Ministry has projected that the national total sugarcane production will reach an all-time high of 5001.97 lakh tonnes in the current marketing season of 2025-26, significantly higher than the 2024-25 season's production of 4546.11 lakh tonnes, the government's figures remain skeptical due to insufficient supply to sugar mills.

Sugar mills in Maharashtra and Karnataka are closing rapidly due to the lack of sugarcane, while the pace of closures has also increased in other major producing states, including Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

It is noteworthy that due to the limited supply and availability of sugarcane, industry and trade organizations have begun reducing their earlier estimates of sugar production.

While sugar production is expected to be higher this year than last year, this increase will not be as significant as previously anticipated.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, domestic sugarcane production was 4531.58 lakh tonnes in the 2023-24 season, 4905.33 lakh tonnes in 2022-23 and 4394.25 lakh tonnes in the 2021-22 season.

According to industry analysts, if more than 500 million tonnes of sugarcane had been produced in the current 2025-26 season, sugar production would have easily crossed the 300 lakh tonnes mark and ethanol manufacturers would have also secured adequate stocks. This time, the average recovery rate of sugar from sugarcane is seeing an increase.