Sugar mills will start operating 10-15 days before the normal schedule for the 2026-2027 sugar marketing season to ensure adequate availability of sugar during the festival season this year.

At a meeting held with the Joint Secretary (Sugar) last month, the Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) and the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) committed that the mills will advance the sugarcane crushing schedule.

“This proactive decision will enable fresh sugar to reach the domestic market well ahead of the festive season,” the associations said in a press release on Thursday. However, early commencement of sugarcane crushing is expected to result in lower sugar recovery and reduced cane yields, thereby affecting the operational efficiency and financial viability of mills.

The government should, hence, consider appropriate support measures to partly offset the losses associated with the early commencement of crushing, including compensating recovery loss as was done in the past, additional domestic sugar sale quota equivalent to the sugar production in October, or waiver of CGST on domestic sugar sales, said the ISMA and the NFCSF.

The ISMA and the NFCSF added that the recent movement in sugar prices is not reflective of the underlying demand-supply fundamentals. During the current sugar season (October 2025 to September 2026), the pan India average ex-mill sugar prices up to June were around ₹ 40 a kg. Even after the recent increase, the season’s average realisation up to the end of July reached ₹ 40 to Rs. 40.5 a kg, which is still below the cost of production of sugar of around ₹42 per kg. India continues to have adequate sugar stocks to comfortably meet domestic consumption requirements.

The Associations also appealed to all stakeholders to rely on verified information and refrain from speculative buying, hoarding, or spreading misleading perceptions regarding sugar availability.