Indian sugar output slumps 44 pc in early 2024-25 season as mills delay crushing

NEW DELHI: India’s sugar production dropped 44 per cent to 7.10 lakh tonnes in the first six weeks of the 2024-25 season compared with 12.70 lakh tonnes a year earlier, as fewer mills started crushing operations, industry body NFCSFL said on Friday.

Only 144 sugar mills were operational as of November 15, down from 264 mills in the previous year, the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd (NFCSFL) said in a statement.

Maharashtra, one of India’s top three sugar-producing states, has yet to begin crushing operations. Last year, 103 mills were operational in the state during the same period.PTI