Tue Dec 02 16:24:17 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text, followed by a news article rewrite:
Summary:
An article in The Hindu e-paper, published December 2, 2025, reports that sugar production in India is up in the first two months of the 2025-2026 sugar marketing season compared to the same period last year. Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka are experiencing improved sugarcane crushing. However, rising sugarcane costs in several states have increased the average cost of sugar production. The Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) is urging the government to raise the Minimum Selling Price of sugar and increase the ethanol procurement price to reflect higher costs. The ISMA also notes that the current ethanol allocation is insufficient, leaving distillery capacity underutilized.
News Article:
India’s Sugar Production Surges, Industry Calls for Price Hikes
Coimbatore, India – December 2, 2025 – India’s sugar production is off to a strong start in the 2025-2026 sugar marketing season, with 41.08 lakh tonnes produced by 428 sugar mills in the first two months. This is a significant increase compared to the 28.76 lakh tonnes produced by 376 mills during the same period last year.
According to a report published in The Hindu e-paper, Uttar Pradesh has seen a boost in production, reaching 13.97 lakh tonnes, surpassing last year’s figures by 1.17 lakh tonnes. Maharashtra also reports strong output with 16.95 lakh tonnes. Improved sugarcane crushing has also been noted in Karnataka.
Despite the increased production, the Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) is calling for government intervention to address rising costs. Increased sugarcane costs in key producing states like Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttarakhand, have pushed the average cost of sugar production to ₹41.72 a kg.
“The government must revise upwards the Minimum Selling Price of sugar to reflect these increased costs,” urged a spokesperson for ISMA. The association is also advocating for a higher ethanol procurement price to account for increased feedstock and conversion expenses.
ISMA further noted that the current ethanol allocation of 289 crore litres for the sugar sector, which represents only 27.5% of the total allocation for Ethanol sugar year 2025–26, is inadequate. This limited allocation is leaving a significant portion of distillery capacity underutilized, hindering the industry’s potential for ethanol production.
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