There has been a significant decline in sugarcane crushing and sugar production in Maharashtra during the 2024-25 season compared with the previous year. According to data available till March 20, 2025, several major factors have contributed to this reduction.
Low sugarcane production and sugarcane supply: The Sugar Commissioner’s office estimated that 904 lakh tonnes of sugarcane was available for crushing in the 2024-25 season against 1,076 lakh tonnes in the previous season. This year, production has declined due to adverse weather conditions and other factors.
Impact of weather: Insufficient and unevenly distributed rainfall in 2024 during the growing season affected sugarcane quality and growth rates.
Sugarcane diversion to fodder: Due to fodder shortage in some parts of Maharashtra, farmers diverted sugarcane to fodder for livestock, which further reduced the supply of sugarcane to sugar factories.
Sugarcane diversion to seed: Following drought in 2023-24, significant amounts of sugarcane were diverted for new cultivation in 2024-25, reducing availability for crushing.
Delayed crushing season due to polls
The Maharashtra government postponed the start of crushing to November 15, 2024, due to State assembly elections. With results declared on November 23, 2024, actual crushing began only after November 25, 2024. Delayed monsoon and wet fields further shortened the crushing season.
Competition from neighbouring States
Karnataka’s sugar factories started operations on November 8, 2024 — almost 15 days before Maharashtra — leading to sugarcane diversion from border districts like Kolhapur and Sangli.
Shift towards ethanol production: This year, the Government of India has allowed ethanol production from sugarcane juice and B-heavy molasses. The government’s emphasis on ethanol production has led to a shift in sugarcane and sugarcane for ethanol production. In the 2024-25 season, approximately 12 lakh tonnes of sugarcane was diverted for ethanol, resulting in less sugarcane available for sugar production.
Sugar extraction decline: The state’s average sugar recovery rate fell to 9.45 per cent (as of March 18, 2025) from 10.16 per cent in the previous season due to weather problems and a high proportion of ratoon crops which has led to a decline in sugar production.
Regional variation: Sugar yield varied significantly by region—Kolhapur achieved 10.75% while Solapur lagged at 7.88%, reflecting the uneven quality of sugarcane in Maharashtra.
Increased crushing capacity: Enhanced capacity enabled sugar factories to process available sugarcane more quickly, leading to earlier closures. By March 18, 2025, 172 out of 200 sugar factories had concluded operations compared to the same period last season.
Shortage of harvesting labourers: With the early opening of sugar mills in Karnataka, many sugarcane harvesters contracted to work in Maharashtra moved to Karnataka due to its earlier start, creating labour shortages. This led to a shortage of sugarcane harvesters, which hampered harvesting efforts. This limited the amount of sugarcane harvesting labourers taken to the sugar mills and led to the disposal of sugarcane elsewhere.
The rise of khandsari (non-traditional sugar) and jaggery units diverted significant sugarcane from mills as farmers sought quicker returns due to delays in crushing operations.
Lower crushing: As of March 18, 2025, mills milled 837.31 lakh tonnes of sugarcane compared with 1,029.98 lakh tonnes in the 2023-24 season—a decline of nearly 19 per cent.
Sugar production: As of March 18, 2025, sugar production reached 79.11 lakh tonnes compared with 104.68 lakh tonnes in the previous year, a decline of nearly 24 per cent.
Mill closures: As of mid-March, only 28 mills were operational, indicating a faster-than-usual pace of closures.
The lower sugarcane milling in Maharashtra in the 2024-25 season is mainly due to reduced availability of sugarcane due to weather and fodder diversion, delayed harvest due to elections, and a policy shift towards ethanol production. In addition, there are logistical constraints such as early mill closures due to low recovery rates, increased capacity and lower production, and labor shortages. These factors have combined to reduce the amount of cane harvested and the sugar produced, making it a challenging season for Maharashtra’s sugar industry, which normally accounts for one third of India’s sugar production.
(The author is Managing Director of Samarth SSK Ltd and Co-Chairperson of the Sugar Bioenergy Forum (SBF) under the Indian Federation of Green Energy.)
