Sugar Production Drops By 14% With Sharp Drop In Cane Availability

There is nearly 14% lower sugar production compared to last year's same period. This is as of February 28, 2025, according to data released by the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF).

State-wise crushing data for sugar season 2024-45 shows sugar production at 220 lakh tonnes, as against 254.7 lakh tonnes. The downturn is mainly due to higher diversion towards ethanol, lower cane availability and recovery levels.

Second largest sugar producer Maharashtra recorded the steepest year-on-year decline in sugar production by 18%, the highest among all states. In comparison, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka saw dropped of 8% and 16%, respectively, despite relatively stable or slightly lower crushing volumes. This suggests increased diversion toward ethanol production and lower sugar recovery rates compared to the previous year.

According to the NFCSF, sugar production for the 2024-25 season is estimated to reach 265 lakh tonnes, lower than the previous estimate of 270 lakh tonnes. In the previous season, sugar production was 319 lakh tonnes.

Lower Crushing Of Sugarcane

As of February 28, 2025, overall sugarcane crushing has dropped 6.8% year-on-year as against 4.5% previous year same period. The fall is mainly due to the decline in cane availability in the states of Maharashtra and Karnatak. Additionally, the current fortnight witnessed sequential cane availability decline from 320 lakh tonne to 210 lakh tonne. Fortnight cane availability refers to the amount of sugarcane available for crushing within a two-week (fortnight) period.

For the fortnight, Uttar Pradesh recorded a 10 percent decrease year-on-year to 86 lakh tonne from 95.9 lakh tonne. Karnataka recorded the steepest fortnight decline of 57% followed by Maharashtra at 43%. For the overall season, Karnataka witnessed cane availability decline by 3.9% and Maharashtra by a 12% drop for the season. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh performed better, resulting in flattish performance for the season.

The lower availability of cane has led to an increase in number of mills closing crushing operation for the season. The total number of mills closed increased sharply from 51 mills as on February 15, 2025, to 114 as of February 28, 2025.

According to NFCSF report, a total of 533 sugar mills participated in the crushing, with 186 mills concluding operations by 28 February, compared to just 72 mills closing by this date last year.