Sugar production up at 193.5 lakh tonnes in Oct-Jan of 2022-23: ISMA

NEW DELHI: The country's sugar production rose 3.42 per cent to 193.5 lakh tonnes in the first four months of the ongoing marketing year ending September, on rise in output in key producing states, industry body ISMA said on Thursday.

Sugar production stood at 187.1 lakh tonnes during October-January period of the previous marketing year.

Sugar marketing year runs from October to September. India is a major sugar producing country in the world.

Releasing the latest production figures, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said around 520 mills were operating as on January 31, as against 510 mills in the year-ago period.

Total sugar production, after diversion for ethanol manufacturing, has increased to 193.5 lakh tonnes till January of the current marketing year from 187.1 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period, it said.

Sugar production in Maharashtra, the country's leading producing state of the sweetener, rose to 73.8 lakh tonnes during October-January of the ongoing marketing year from 72.9 lakh tonnes in the year-ago.

Production in Uttar Pradesh, the country's second largest producing state, rose marginally to 51 lakh tonnes as against 50.3 lakh tonnes, while in Karnataka -- the country's third largest producing state -- the output rose to 39.4 lakh tonnes as against 38.8 lakh tonnes in the said period.

Production in other states also remained higher at 29.3 lakh tonnes during October-January period of the 2022-23 marketing year, as against 25.1 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

ISMA said about 22.6 lakh tonnes of sugar has been diverted for ethanol production during October-January of this marketing year, higher than 16.3 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

The industry body, however, has projected that India's overall sugar production could fall 5 per cent during the 2022-23 marketing year to 340 lakh tonnes as more quantity of sugarcane juice is being diverted for production of ethanol.

Sugar production stood at 358 lakh tonnes in the 2021-22 marketing year.