ISMA sugar output: 12.85 lakh tonnes by November 5, four times last year

India's mills had made 12.85 lakh tonnes of sugar by Thursday, 5 November 2026, five weeks into the 2026-27 sugar season, according to early figures released on Friday, 6 November by the Indian Sugar and Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA), the mills' industry body. That is about four times the 3.20 lakh tonnes made by the same date a year earlier. The number of mills crushing cane rose to 184 from 154. Maharashtra produced most of the sugar so far, while Uttar Pradesh, the other big producer, is behind last year because most of its mills have not yet started.

The sugar season in India runs from October to September. The first weeks usually show only a small slice of the year's output, so the early figures matter less for the final total than for what they say about timing. This year Maharashtra's mills started quickly and in large numbers, which is why the national figure has jumped so far ahead of last year's. The early start means cane is being cut and paid for sooner in the state's sugar belt, from Kolhapur and Sangli to Solapur and Ahmednagar, where co-operative mills are a mainstay of the rural economy.

Uttar Pradesh tells the opposite story for now. Only 19 of its mills had begun crushing by 5 November, against 32 a year earlier. ISMA's Director General, Deepak Ballani, said he expects most factories in western Uttar Pradesh to start in the next couple of days and those in central Uttar Pradesh after Diwali, and that national output should rise substantially as they do. For the state's cane growers, the start date of the local mill decides when their crop is cut, when the field is cleared for wheat, and when payment begins to flow.

The stock position is the other half of the picture. ISMA said the roughly 36 lakh tonnes carried over from last season, together with the fresh sugar now coming in, leave the country comfortably placed to meet domestic demand. That matters for the festive season, when sweets makers buy heavily, and for the government's later decisions on how much sugar may be exported or diverted to ethanol, which are usually taken once the season's size is clearer.

For farmers, the price of cane is a separate question from the volume of sugar. The network has reported on cane price disputes in Karnataka and Haryana this season; those prices are set by the Centre's fair and remunerative price and by state advisory prices, not by these early output figures.

Peepals calculation: the average mill has made far more sugar so far this season than at this point last year: about 6,980 tonnes a mill now (12.85 lakh tonnes ÷ 184 mills) against about 2,080 tonnes a year ago (3.20 lakh tonnes ÷ 154 mills), roughly 3.4 times as much. Maharashtra alone accounts for about 84% of the national total (10.78 ÷ 12.85). In Uttar Pradesh the average running mill has made about 1,050 tonnes (0.20 lakh ÷ 19) against about 3,440 tonnes last year (1.10 lakh ÷ 32). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: Cane cutting and payments are running ahead of last year in Maharashtra, while growers in Uttar Pradesh wait for local mills to open, most of them in the days around Diwali.

Long-term: Early figures do not settle the size of the season. The total will depend on cane yields and sugar recovery in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka once their main season is in full swing, and that in turn will shape export and ethanol policy later in the season.

Who is affected: Cane farmers and co-operative and private sugar mills in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; mill workers and harvest labour; sweets makers and other bulk buyers of sugar.

What to watch next: ISMA expects most mills in western Uttar Pradesh to start within days and those in central Uttar Pradesh after Diwali.

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