Pune, September 11: Maharashtra’s sugar production in the upcoming crushing season may fall well short of government projections, with National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd. (NFCSF) President, Harshvardhan Patil, while addressing the Press in Pune, said, “mills are unlikely to operate for more than around 80 days and sugar production may not cross 85 lakh tonnes.” Patil said the federation had apprised the government of the ground situation amid concerns over cane availability and sugar recovery.
Industry Questions 112 Lakh Tonne Production Projection
Patil said, “The assessment comes against the state government’s projection of around 112 lakh tonnes of sugar production, based on an estimated cane yield of 81 tonnes per hectare and sugar recovery of 11.25%. Industry representatives have questioned the estimate, pointing to lower cane yields and recovery.”
He added that last season, Maharashtra’s mills operated for about 104 days and produced around 104 lakh tonnes after diversion of sugar for ethanol.
NFCSF Seeks Sugar MSP Revision, Soft Loan Support
Patil said, “the immediate financial challenge for mills was equally serious.” He reiterated the industry’s demand for increasing the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar to Rs 45- 50 per kg, saying the MSP has remained unchanged for eight years despite rising input and production costs. He also sought a soft-loan package to help mills meet expenses towards harvesting, transportation, salaries and maintenance. According to Patil, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has assured the industry that the government would place a proposal before the state Cabinet and explore guarantees for such loans.
He also called for action against illegal jaggery-making units, arguing that they divert sugarcane and distort the cane market. The NFCSF has consistently sought a stronger link between sugar prices and the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) of cane to ensure mills remain financially viable and farmers receive timely payments. Its proposed reforms also include continuation of the reserved cane-area system, retention of the 25-km minimum distance criterion between mills and long-term policy stability.
Patil’s comments come days after the sugar industry said there was “absolutely no shortage” of sugar despite a sharp rise in retail prices. NFCSF had pointed out that ex-mill prices, which briefly touched nearly Rs 50 per kg, subsequently fell by almost 30 per cent. It said mills had not benefited significantly from the brief price spike, with only about 1-1.5 lakh tonnes sold at the elevated rates. The industry has pegged its average production cost at around Ts 42-43 per kg.
At the Pune interaction, Patil also highlighted the need to transform cooperative sugar factories into integrated bioenergy centres. In his address, he said. “Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) as a major diversification opportunity, noting that sugar mills already have access to press mud, spent wash, bagasse and agricultural biomass.” He added that these should be viewed not merely as waste or by-products but as “an energy resource and an additional source of revenue.”
The NFCSF is also pushing precision agriculture, AI, modern cane management, automation and energy-efficient processing. It has proposed a Rs 90-crore Global Centre of Excellence for Accelerated Sugarcane Breeding at ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Coimbatore, to develop high-yielding, climate-resilient and disease- and pest-tolerant varieties through genomics, molecular breeding and other technologies.
The federation’s press also highlighted its growing national role. As many as 88 cooperative sugar factories participated in the 2024-25 evaluation and 102 in 2025-26, described as the largest participation in the awards’ history. Maharashtra topped the dual-year awards tally with 21 of the 57 awards, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat with eight each.
The Vasantdada Patil Award for the 2024-25 season has gone to Bhimashankar Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd., Pune, while the 2025-26 award has been awarded to Krantiagrani Dr G.D. Bapu Lad Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Ltd., Sangli. The awards ceremony is scheduled for September 22 in New Delhi, with Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Shivraj Singh Chouhan expected to attend.
Patil’s in his address had a broader message that the future of India’s cooperative sugar sector lies in combining farmer-centric cane development, financially sustainable sugar pricing, ethanol and CBG diversification, technology and modernisation rather than depending solely on conventional sugar production.
