Association Data
India sugar output up 14% YoY as of Feb 15, operational mills fall, says ISMA
This story was originally published at 20:03 IST on 16 February 2026
Register to read our real-time news.Informist, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026
Please click here to read all liners published on this story
--ISMA: India Oct 1-Feb 15 sugar output 22.5 mln tn vs 19.7 mln tn year ago
--ISMA: 456 mills crushing cane as of Feb 15 vs 460 year ago
--ISMA: Maharashtra Oct 1-Feb 15 sugar output 9.0 mln tn vs 6.8 mln tn yr ago
--ISMA: Uttar Pradesh Oct 1-Feb 15 sugar output 6.6 mln tn vs 6.4 mln yr ago
--ISMA: Karnataka Oct 1-Feb 15 sugar output 4.1 mln tn vs 3.6 mln tn yr ago
MUMBAI – India's sugar production in the ongoing 2025-26 (Oct-Sept) season rose 14% on year to 22.5 million tonnes as of mid-Feburary, the Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association said Monday. However, the number of operational sugar mills currently crushing fell slightly to 456 as of Sunday, compared with 460 units a year ago, it added.
As of Feb. 15, Maharashtra's sugar production substantially improved to nearly 9 million tonnes, up around 32% on year. The state has reported the highest crushing rate this season, and has 182 operational mills, against 170 units in the corresponding period a year ago. Karnataka, another major sugar producer, also recorded a rise in output to 4.1 million tonnes from 3.6 million tonnes a year ago. The state had 52 operational mills as of Sunday, against 50 units a year ago.
Around 55 factories have collectively closed across both the states as of Sunday, compared with 58 closures in the corresponding period last year. "It is worth noting that some factories in South Karnataka are expected to restart operations during the special season from June / July to September 2026," the association said.
In Uttar Pradesh, sugar production as of mid-January rose over 3% on year to 6.6 million tonnes, ISMA said. This was despite a decline in operational mills to 111, compared with 119 units a year ago. The smaller sugar-producing states, such as Gujarat recorded a fall in output while Tamil Nadu recorded a rise. As of Sunday, Gujarat's sugar output fell to 580,000 tonnes from 599,000 tonnes a year ago while output in Tamil Nadu rose to 272,000 tonnes from 234,000 tonnes.
The association said it will shortly release its third advance estimate for sugar prodcution for current season. "As the sugar season progresses and inventories continued to build up, the industry remains in anticipation of an early upward revision of the Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar," it said. With production costs rising and ex-mill realisations not keeping pace, the widening gap has intensified cash-flow pressures across mills, contributing to an upward trend in cane payment arrears, it added. End
Reported by Ashutosh Pati
Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury
For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.
Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.
Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000
Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com
© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.
To read more please subscribe
Share this Story:
