India’s sugar production saw a decline of 10.65 percent at 43.20 lakh tonnes during October-November, the first two months of the current 2023-24 season, according to the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd (NFCSFL).
The production was at 48.35 lakh tonnes in the same period in the previous season.
The NFCSFL reported that the overall reduction in sugar production in the country was due to decreased output in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
In Maharashtra, the second-largest sugar producer in the country, sugar production was lower at 13.50 lakh tonnes in October-November of this season compared to 20.25 lakh tonnes in the previous season.
Similarly, sugar production in Karnataka, the third-largest sugar-producing state, was down to 11 lakh tonnes from 12.15 lakh tonnes.
However, in Uttar Pradesh, the leading sugar producer, production remained higher at 13.05 lakh tonnes compared to 10.60 lakh tonnes in the previous season, as stated by the cooperative in a release.
During the October-November period of the 2023-24 season, about 511.02 lakh tonnes of sugarcane were crushed, as against to 570.61 lakh tonnes in the same period in the previous year. The number of operational sugar mills also decreased from 451 to 433.
