UP pips Maha to become largest producer of sugar, courtesy inclement weather
UP has overtaken Maharashtra as India’s top sugar-producing state amid adverse weather. While Maharashtra’s sugar output dropped 26%, UP saw a smaller decline of 11.7%, producing 91.5 LMT. National sugar production fell 19% overall. UP’s resilience stems from more operational mills—22 out of 37 nationally—helping it maintain higher cane-crushing levels despite climate challenges.
Lucknow: Adverse weather conditions can change crop and commodity production trends. Uttar Pradesh caught up with one such trend as it surpassed Maharashtra to emerge as the country’s biggest cane-crushing and sugar-producing state in the ongoing 2024-25 season.
Cane industry data, updated until April 15, shows that in 2023-24, Maharashtra was the leading producer of sugar, producing 110.20 lakh metric tons (LMT) of sugar last year.
This, however, plunged to 80.70 LMT—a dip of more than 26%—due to adverse weather in the 2024-25 season.
In contrast, UP saw the decline stop at 91.50 LMT in 2024-25 from 103.65 LMT in 2023-24, suggesting a plunge of 11.7%. Likewise, Karnataka saw its sugar production tumble down from 53 LMT in 2023-24 to 42 LMT, which was a decrease of around 21%.
Nationally, sugar production registered a decrease from 319 LMT in 2023-24 to 299 LMT this year—a decline of around 19%. The dip has primarily been attributed to adverse weather conditions, including droughts and excessive rainfall, which have negatively impacted sugarcane yields in key producing states.
Data shows that UP managed to outperform other states by keeping a sizable number of mills in operation.
As against only one mill in Maharashtra, UP had 22 sugar mills in operation in midApril. In fact, only 37 mills were operating nationally. This means that of the total operating mills, around 60% were in UP alone. Tamil Nadu was another state where 10 mills were in operation, even though sugar production in the south Indian state decreased from 10.75 LMT in 2023-24 to 7 LMT this year.
UP, data shows, crushed a maximum of more than 937 LMT of cane in the current season. This was down from last year’s 959 LMT of cane crushed.
In contrast, Maharashtra saw cane crushing decrease from 1064 LMT in 2023-24 to 848 LMT this year. Likewise, cane crushing in Karnataka also fell from 527 LMT to 475 LMT.
This reduction in output has led to a decrease in the availability of sugar for export. While Indian mills have signed contracts to export 600,000 metric tons of sugar for the 2024-25 marketing year, the overall export pace has reportedly slowed due to rising domestic prices and increased local demand, experts said.
The anticipated shortfall in sugar production may also have implications for global sugar prices, as India has traditionally been a significant sugar exporter. The current situation, not surprisingly, underscores the challenges posed by climatic factors and their impact on agricultural productivity.
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Source : The Times Of India
