Maharashtra sugar output may fall 20% to 80 lakh tonnes: WISMA
Maharashtra’s sugar production could fall around 20% to nearly 80 lakh tonnes in 2026-27 as inadequate rainfall reduces cane yields and sugar recovery. WISMA supports the October 15 crushing start, while warning of worsening water constraints and crop losses.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : Sugar production in Maharashtra could decline by around 20% to nearly 80 lakh tonnes in the 2026-27 crushing season as inadequate rainfall reduces sugarcane tonnage and lowers sugar recovery, according to West India Sugar Mills Association (WISMA) chairman B. B. Thombre, PTI reported
Maharashtra, which has remained one of India’s leading sugar-producing states, produced nearly 99 lakh tonnes of sugar during the 2025-26 season.
“The area under sugarcane plantation is good, but the tonnage (yield per acre) of sugarcane is going down by 30-40 per cent this year. The more crushing is delayed, the more it will keep falling. Therefore, early crushing of sugarcane is necessary,” Thombre told PTI.
He said Maharashtra has experienced a severe rain shortfall this year, affecting crop yields, including sugarcane. The water situation could also create difficulties for sugar mills during January and February, with reservoirs being reserved for drinking water amid drought-like conditions.
Thombre said the situation had become particularly serious in Marathwada, Vidarbha, Solapur and Ahilyanagar, where sugarcane has been drying up due to the absence of rainfall for the past 45 days.
“If sugarcane is sent for crushing at the earliest, it will give some return to farmers; otherwise, the crop may dry up in the fields,” he said.
He supported the Maharashtra government’s decision to begin the sugar crushing season early this year from October 15, saying the move would benefit both farmers and sugar mills.
Thombre also said sugar prices are currently favourable and could remain stable through the Diwali festival. He added that the impact of lower sugar recovery could be partly offset by prevailing sugar prices.
“The loss occurring from sugar recovery rate (percentage of sugar extracted from total weight) can be compensated from the rates,” he said.
Thombre also welcomed the government’s decision to allow sugar to be sent directly to the market instead of being released through a quota system.
Speaking to ChiniMandi, Thombre said, “In 2015, the Central Government introduced the Soft Loan 2015 scheme to help sugar mills clear pending FRP dues for the 2014-15 crushing season. The scheme covered both cooperative and private sugar mills across the country. However, in Maharashtra, the state government extended the benefit only to cooperative mills. As a result, private sugar mills are still awaiting around Rs 492 crore in interest subsidy accumulated over four years. Our organisation has submitted applications to the state government and the Sugar Commissionerate seeking payment of the pending subsidy.”
With lower cane yields, water constraints and the risk of further deterioration in standing cane if crushing is delayed, WISMA has emphasised the need for mills to commence operations early to minimise losses for growers and the industry.
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Source : ChiniMandi
