Sugar season 2026-27: 55 mills already crushing in Maharashtra, pace set to pick up from October 15
Maharashtra’s 2026-27 sugarcane crushing season began with 55 mills operational by October 13, ahead of the October 15 scheduled start. Drought-related cane shortages, harvesting logistics and farmers’ protests demanding ₹5,500 per tonne are challenging mills, while 2,720 harvesters support mechanised harvesting across the state.
Pune: The 2026-27 sugarcane crushing season has got underway in Maharashtra. According to the Maharashtra State Cooperative Sugar Factories Federation Ltd, 55 sugar mills in the state had started crushing by October 13.
The state government has allowed the crushing season to begin from October 15, so crushing activity is likely to gather pace from that date. At present, Solapur and Ahilyanagar districts lead the way with 11 mills each already crushing, followed by Pune and Satara districts with 8 mills each. Meanwhile, 3 sugar mills have started in Kolhapur and 4 in Sangli district.
Drought looms over this year’s season. Because of the drought, sugar mills face a major challenge in securing enough cane this year, and there are signs that competition among mills to procure cane will rise. Due to lack of rain, cane has not grown as expected in some parts of the state. As a result, mill managements are planning their operations keeping in mind the available cane area and the actual quantity of cane they will get for crushing. A sharp fall in cane weight is also feared.
Mills will have to scramble to secure enough cane. Mills with higher crushing capacity need a steady supply of cane to make full use of their capacity. If the available cane turns out to be lower than estimated, meeting crushing targets could become difficult. Keeping this in mind, mills are focusing on ensuring the availability of harvesting gangs, tractors, trucks, bullock carts and harvesters. Staying in touch with cane growers, fixing harvesting schedules and removing transport bottlenecks have become important this season. Some sugar mills are also preparing to source cane from other areas beyond their designated command areas if needed.
As many as 2,720 harvesters are ready for cane harvesting. Maharashtra is giving priority to the mechanisation of cane harvesting, and a total of 2,720 harvesters have been made available in the state for this year’s crushing season. Of these, 321 harvesters are owned by sugar mills, while 2,399 have been taken by mills on contract. According to a report published in the daily Agrowon, these machines are expected to harvest cane on around 2,15,204 hectares. Sugar mills are placing greater emphasis on harvesters to deal with labour shortages, complete harvesting on time and manage crushing better.
The cane price agitation has intensified in Western Maharashtra, where farmers are demanding a fair price for sugarcane. Led by the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana, road blockades and protests to stop cane transport were held at various places in Sangli, Satara and Solapur districts on Tuesday. The protesting farmers demanded a price of Rs 5,500 per tonne for cane, staging sit ins on highways to draw the attention of sugar mill operators to their demands. A road blockade was held on the Pune Solapur highway for three hours. More than 150 tractors were stopped in Sangli, while an attempt was made to halt cane transport in Satara. This year’s crushing season is thus being hit on one side by fears of drought and a possible cane shortage, while on the other, the farmers’ agitation over cane prices has added to the challenge.
Crushing is expected to pick up pace from October 15, says the Sugar Commissioner. Speaking to ChiniMandi about preparations for the crushing season, Maharashtra Sugar Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Kolte said the process of granting sugar mills permission to start the crushing season is in its final stage. He said proper coordination is being ensured among all stakeholders so that the crushing season in the state can run smoothly. According to him, crushing activity is likely to pick up from October 15. All eyes are now on how Maharashtra’s sugar mills will carry out crushing this season amid limited cane availability, fears of drought and the agitation over cane prices.
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Source : ChiniMandi
