As high as ₹4,898 crore is yet to paid by sugar mills in Maharashtra to the sugarcane farmers as of February 28 in current season, which necessitates a revision in the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar, said an industry body.
“As the sugar season advances and reaches its penultimate phase, the industry continues to await an early upward revision of the MSP. With production costs increasing and ex-mill realisations lagging, mills are facing mounting cash-flow pressures, leading to higher cane payment arrears,” said Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA).
In Maharashtra, sugarcane arrears (amount not paid to farmers within 14 days) were ₹4,898 crore as of February 28, 2026, compared with ₹2,949 crore in the corresponding period in last season, it said in a statement. “A timely MSP revision aligned with current cost structure is crucial to restore mill viability, expedite farmer payments and maintain market stability, without any additional fiscal burden on the government,” ISMA said.
Ops on in 157
The industry body also said that India’s sugar production reached 26.21 million tonne (mt) so far in the ongoing 2025-26 season, up by 10.5 per cent from 23.72 mt in the year-ago period. The output so far has exceeded the total net production of 26.12 mt in the entire 2024-25 season (October-September).
The crushing was underway as 157 mills were in operation as on March 15, while 379 mills have closed operation.
As per the data, production in Maharashtra, the country’s largest sugar producer, rose to 9.84 mt as of March 15 from 7.87 mt year-ago. Production in Uttar Pradesh, the largest sugarcane producing state, reached 8.13 mt from 8.12 mt, while that in Karnataka it reached 4.60 mt from 3.92 mt in the said period.
ISMA said that some mills in south Karnataka are expected to resume operations during the special season from June/July to September 2026.