New Delhi, Dec. 2 -- India's sugar production rose 43 per cent to 4.11 million tonnes in the first two months of the 2025-26 marketing year, driven by strong output from Maharashtra, the Indian Sugar and Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) said on Tuesday.

Production stood at 2.88 million tonnes in the same period a year earlier. The marketing year runs from October to September.

"Field-level feedback points to healthier cane yields and better sugar recovery rates across key states versus last year, as sugarcane crushing gains momentum across the country," ISMA said in a statement.

The number of operating factories rose to 428 this year from 376 in the year-ago period.

Production in Uttar Pradesh, the country's largest sugar producing state, reached 1.40 million tonnes through November, up from 1.28 million tonnes a year earlier.

Output in Maharashtra, the second-largest producing state, surged to 1.69 million tonnes from 460,000 tonnes in the year-ago period.

Production in Karnataka, the third-largest state, fell to 774,000 tonnes from 812,000 tonnes despite crushing operations gaining pace after early disruptions due to farmer protests, ISMA said.

Gujarat produced 92,000 tonnes and Tamil Nadu 35,000 tonnes so far this year.

ISMA called for an increase in the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar, which has remained unchanged for over six years despite rising production costs.

The pan-India average cost of production has risen to Rs 41.72 per kg following recent increases in cane costs in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand, the industry body said.

"An increased MSP is essential to ensure fair returns to mills and timely payment to farmers," ISMA said.

The association also urged the government to raise ethanol procurement prices to reflect higher feedstock and conversion costs.

The current allocation of 2.89 billion liters of ethanol to the sugar sector for the 2025-26 ethanol supply year represents just 27.5 per cent of total allocations, creating an imbalance and leaving distillery capacity underutilized, ISMA added.

ISMA has projected a net sugar production of 30.95 million tonnes for 2025-26, excluding diversion for ethanol making, compared with actual output of 26.11 million tonnes in the previous year.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.