Uttar Pradesh has no sugar shortage, 28 lakh tonnes in stock, says CM Yogi Adityanath
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the state has sufficient sugar stocks, with 28 lakh tonnes currently available and another 90 lakh tonnes expected after mills restart in October. ISMA also ruled out a shortage, attributing price rises to production, global and speculative factors.
Uttar Pradesh has no shortage of sugar, with the state holding around 28 lakh tonnes of stock and another 90 lakh tonnes expected after sugar mills restart in October, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, according to a report by Business Today.
Adityanath said the state consumes around four lakh tonnes of sugar a month, meaning its existing stock is sufficient to meet roughly seven months of demand. He added that sugar mills are expected to restart from Oct. 15 and produce another 90 lakh tonnes, or 900 lakh quintals, of sugar.
The chief minister’s remarks come amid concerns over rising sugar prices and reports of a possible shortage in the domestic market.
ISMA says no sugar shortage
Niraj Shirgaokar, president of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), also said there is no shortage of sugar in the country. Net sugar production for 2025-26 is estimated at around 279 lakh tonnes, while closing stocks are projected at roughly 35 lakh tonnes, he said.
Shirgaokar said the projected closing stock provides a sufficient buffer to meet normal domestic demand, including after accounting for sugar diverted towards ethanol.
Retail sugar prices have increased from around Rs 48 per kg in July to roughly Rs 55-56 per kg in August, an increase of about 16%. Shirgaokar attributed the rise to factors other than an actual shortage of sugar.
He said domestic sugar output for the season was lower than initially projected and has been revised to around 309 lakh tonnes. Weather-related factors, lower cane yields and reduced recovery, including a higher crush rate in Maharashtra and red rot-related varietal issues in Uttar Pradesh, contributed to the lower output.
Festival-season buying has also increased, as is usually the case during this period, he said.
Lower-than-expected sugar production in Brazil has added to tighter global supplies, with international sugar prices rising from around $474 a tonne in June to about $552 a tonne in August, according to Shirgaokar.
However, he identified speculative buying as the biggest factor behind the recent increase in domestic sugar prices. Some bulk buyers who previously purchased sugar closer to the time of consumption have started building inventories one-and-a-half to two months in advance.
According to Shirgaokar, this has moved sugar from regular market circulation into warehouses, creating an artificial tightness despite sufficient physical availability.
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Source : ChiniMandi
