Sugar production in India fell 18% year-on-year as of March 31, 2025, according to National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories data.
State-wise crushing data for sugar season 2024-25 shows sugar production at 248.5 lakh tonnes, as against 302.5 lakh tonnes last year. The downturn is mainly due to higher diversion towards ethanol, lower cane availability in Maharashtra and lower recovery levels.
Maharashtra, which is the second largest sugar producer, recorded 25% year-on-year decline in sugar production, the highest among all states. In comparison, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka saw drops of 9% and 20%, 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 259 lakh tonnes, lower than the previous estimate of 265 lakh tonnes. In the previous season, sugar production was 319 lakh tonnes.
Lower Crushing Of Sugarcane
As of March 31, 2025, overall sugarcane crushing dropped 11% year-on-year to 2,653 lakh tonnes, as against 2,981 lakh tonnes in sugar season 2023-24. The fall is mainly due to the decline in cane availability in the states of Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Additionally, the current fortnight witnessed sequential decline in cane availability from 1,590 lakh tonne to 1,080 lakh tonne. Fortnight cane availability refers to the amount of sugarcane available for crushing within a two-week period.
For the fortnight, Uttar Pradesh recorded a 1% decrease year-on-year to 61.1 lakh tonne from 61.6 lakh tonne. Maharashtra recorded the steepest fortnight decline of 73%, while Karnataka saw a jump on a small base.
For the overall season, Maharashtra witnessed cane availability decline by 19.5% and Karnataka by a 9% drop for the season. On the other hand, Uttar Pradesh performed better, slightly down by 2%.
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 operational has decreased to 113 mills as on March 31, 2025, from 204 as of March 15, 2025.
According to NFCSF, a total of 533 sugar mills participated in crushing, with 420 mills concluding operations by March 31, compared to just 331 mills closing by this date last year.
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