India's Sugar Production Rises, Industry Seeks MSP Revision
Analysis based on 8 articles · First reported Apr 02, 2026 · Last updated Apr 17, 2026
The increase in India's sugar production, coupled with calls for accelerated ethanol blending, could positively impact the biofuel market and reduce India's reliance on Petroleum imports. However, rising production costs and LPG supply disruptions are pressuring the sugar industry's financial health.
India's sugar production has increased by approximately 8% in the ongoing sugar season 2025-26, reaching 274.8 lakh tons by April 15. This growth comes despite a significant decline in operational mills, indicating the season's end. While India===Maharashtra and India===Karnataka saw increased output, India===Uttar Pradesh experienced a slight decrease. The Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) is advocating for an early revision of the Minimum Selling Price due to rising production costs and weak ex-mill realisations, which are impacting mill cash flows and leading to increased cane payment arrears. ISMA also emphasized the need to accelerate ethanol blending to enhance India's energy security, especially with rising Petroleum prices and geopolitical conditions. They suggest moving beyond E20 to higher blends and faster rollout of flex-fuel vehicles. The lack of revision in ethanol procurement prices and lower allocation to the sector have resulted in underutilised distillation capacity and inventory build-up. Additionally, ongoing LPG supply disruptions are affecting sugar consumption. Timely policy measures are deemed crucial to optimize capacity utilization, improve financial health of mills, protect farmer interests, stabilize sugar markets, and support India's energy security and rural economy.
Set up alerts, explore entity relationships, search across thousands of events, and build custom intelligence feeds.
Open Dashboard