India’s net sugar production stood at 280.79 lakh tonnes till March 15, 2024 of the current marketing year as against 282.60 lakh tonnes produced last year on the corresponding date, i.e. fell by 0.64%. Sugar marketing year runs from October to September. Number of factories operating as on March 15 this year stood at 371 as against 325 mills on the same day last year.
In Uttar Pradesh, sugar production stood at 88.40 lakh tonnes till March 15 as against 79.63 lakh tonnes during the period under review. Sugar output in Maharashtra fell marginally to 100.50 lakh tonnes till March 15 from 101.92 lakh tonnes on the corresponding date, while production in Karnataka declined to 47.55 lakh tonnes till March 15 from 53.50 lakh tonnes on the corresponding date.
Recently, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has pegged sugar production at around 323 lakh tonnes for the 2023-24 marketing year after the diversion of 17 lakh tonnes towards ethanol manufacturing via sugarcane juice/B-heavy molasses. The net sugar production stood at 328.2 lakh tonnes during the 2022-23 marketing year with a diversion of 38 lakh tonnes of sweetener for ethanol-making from sugarcane juice and B-heavy molasses.
ISMA had revised its estimates for gross production of the sweetener upwards by 9.5 lakh tonnes to 340 lakh tonnes in the marketing year ending September. The gross sugar output stood at 366.2 lakh tonnes in the previous year.