Sugarcane acreage dips 0.43 lakh hectares in Kharif 2026-27 amid state-wise variations
India’s sugarcane sowing stood at 58.44 lakh hectares as of August 21, 2026, down 0.43 lakh hectares from last year. Declines in Bihar, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra outweighed gains in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, though acreage remained above the normal benchmark.
Sugarcane sowing across India stood at 58.44 lakh hectares as on August 21, 2026, a decline of 0.43 lakh hectares compared with 58.87 lakh hectares reported during the corresponding period last year, according to the latest Progressive Crop Area Sown Report released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The ministry attributed the overall dip mainly to reduced coverage in Bihar, which saw a fall of 0.30 lakh hectares, and Uttarakhand, where acreage declined by 0.20 lakh hectares. Maharashtra also recorded a drop of 0.14 lakh hectares, while Punjab and Madhya Pradesh contributed further to the decrease, the report said.
These reductions were only partly offset by gains in Uttar Pradesh, which added 0.36 lakh hectares, and Haryana, which recorded an increase of 0.21 lakh hectares. On balance, the losses across sugarcane-growing states outweighed the gains, resulting in a net decline for the season, according to the ministry.
Sugarcane’s current sown area also remains higher than the normal benchmark of 54.20 lakh hectares set by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) for the period, even as this year’s coverage trails last year’s figure.
The sugarcane numbers form part of the broader Kharif sowing update, under which the overall crop area sown across India stood at 1,056.70 lakh hectares, down 16.07 lakh hectares from 1,072.77 lakh hectares a year earlier. Rice, pulses, coarse cereals, oilseeds, cotton, and jute and mesta were the other major crop categories covered in the report.
With the Kharif season still progressing, sugarcane acreage trends will be watched closely by industry stakeholders, given their bearing on cane availability and crushing volumes in the upcoming sugar season.
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Source : ChiniMandi
