Sugar output goes up 10% to 26.21 MTs in 2025-26: ISMA

India's sugar production reached 26.21 million tonne so far in the ongoing 2025-26 marketing year, up by 10.5 per cent from the year-ago period, industry body ISMA said on Tuesday.

The sugar output so far has exceeded the total net production of 26.12 million tonne in the full 2024-25 marketing year (October-September).

The crushing was underway as 157 mills were in operation as on March 15, while 379 mills remained closed.

According to Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA), mills have manufactured 26.21 million tonne of sugar as of March 15 of the 2025-26 marketing year, as against 23.72 million tonne in the year-ago period.

As the sugar season advances and reaches its penultimate phase, the industry body said it continues to await an early upward revision of the Minimum Selling Price (MSP).

"With production costs increasing and ex-mill realizations lagging, mills are facing mounting cash-flow pressures, leading to higher cane payment arrears," it said in a statement.

In Maharashtra, arrears stood at Rs 4,898 crore as of February 28, higher than Rs 2,849 crore on the same date previous year.

"A timely MSP revision aligned with current cost structures is crucial to restore mill viability, expedite farmer payments, and maintain market stability, without any additional fiscal burden on the government," ISMA noted.

As per the industry data, sugar production in Maharasthra, the country's largest producing state, rose to 9.84 million tonne as of March 15 of the 2025-26 marketing year, from 7.87 million tonne in the year-ago.

Production in Uttar Pradesh, the country's second largest sugar producing state, stood at 8.13 million tonne, while that in Karnataka it was 4.60 million tonne in the said period.