Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra remain top sugarcane users for sugar, ethanol production in 2025-26
Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra led India in sugarcane utilisation for combined sugar and ethanol production in 2025-26, at 878 LMT and 1,045 LMT respectively. The government does not separately track ethanol diversion, while overall utilisation has declined in several major sugarcane-producing states.
Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra remained the largest users of sugarcane for combined sugar and ethanol production among Indian states in the 2025-26 season, utilising 878 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) and 1,045 LMT of sugarcane respectively as on July 15, 2026, according to data placed before the Lok Sabha by the Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ramnath Thakur.
Responding to a question by MP Gowaal Kagada Padavi on the diversion of sugarcane for ethanol production, the Minister said the Government does not maintain separate data on sugarcane diverted specifically for ethanol, since sugar mills may use the same sugarcane for both sugar and ethanol production. The state-wise utilisation figures, sourced from the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), reflect combined use for both purposes.
Uttar Pradesh’s utilisation has declined steadily from 1,016.3 LMT in 2021-22 to 956 LMT in 2024-25 and further to 878 LMT in the current season. Maharashtra, by contrast, recorded a rebound to 1,045 LMT in 2025-26 from 855 LMT a year earlier, though this remained well below the 1,322.3 LMT utilised in 2021-22. Karnataka, the third-largest user, reported utilisation of 576 LMT in 2025-26, up from 521.7 LMT in 2024-25 but lower than the 648.7 LMT recorded in 2021-22.
Among other major states, Gujarat’s utilisation fell to 72.1 LMT in 2025-26 from 114.2 LMT in 2021-22, while Tamil Nadu recorded a sharper decline to 67.4 LMT from 139.2 LMT over the same period. Bihar, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh each utilised between 47 LMT and 57 LMT of sugarcane during the season, with all four states recording lower volumes than in 2021-22. Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Odisha rounded out the list of sugarcane-utilising states, each reporting comparatively smaller and largely declining volumes over the five-year period.
The Minister said the Department of Food and Public Distribution had published the draft Sugarcane (Control) Order, 2026 on April 20, 2026, seeking comments from stakeholders, but withdrew it on May 29, 2026, after considering feedback from state governments and other stakeholders, deeming it necessary to revisit the draft. He added that the department had not received any representations from farmer organisations or jaggery producers regarding concerns over the diversion of sugarcane towards ethanol production, though the Government’s priority remained ensuring sufficient sugar availability for domestic consumption at reasonable prices.
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Source : ChiniMandi
