Sugar production rises by 4 lakh tonnes

Sugar production in India till 31 December 2022, in the current 2022-23 sugarcane season, is 120.7 lakh tonnes (lt), higher by 4 lt than that last year, with Maharashtra leading the list.

The sugar marketing year runs from October to September.

During the corresponding period last year, the production was 116.4 lt, according to the industry body Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA).

India is one of the world’s major producers of the sweetener.

The number of operating factories was also higher at 509 as against the 500 that operated last year on the corresponding date.

In Maharashtra, the number of operating factories rose from 189 to 196 during the periods under review, leading to an improvement in production from 45.8 lt to 46.8 lt.

Uttar Pradesh accounted for 30.9 lt of sugar during both years, though the number of operating factories fell to 117 in 2022 from 119 in the previous year.

“Sugar production in Uttar Pradesh reached the year-ago level of 30.9 lt, while in Maharashtra it rose marginally to 46.8 lt during October-December of the 2022-23 marketing year, as against 45.8 lt in the year-ago period,” ISMA said in a statement. Sugar production in Karnataka rose slightly to 26.7 lakh tonnes, as against 26.1 lakh tonnes in the said period.

“The production of sugar has reached 3.8 lt in Gujarat, 2.6 lt in Tamil Nadu and in other states to 9.9 lt during October-December of the ongoing marketing year,” ISMA said.

ISMA has projected sugar production to be 365 lt in the 2022-23 marketing year, an increase of two per cent compared to 358 lt in the 2021-22 marketing year.

The production figures are after the diversion of sugar into ethanol. Maharashtra has a 35 per cent share of India’s ethanol production.