CHANDIGARH: The area under sugarcane cultivation is steadily decreasing in Punjab, despite the efforts of the AAP-led government to promote crop diversification and to support sugarcane cultivation.
It has decreased by over 14,000 hectares compared to last year. Notably, the sugarcane production in the State has fallen to a six-year low, while retail sugar prices have surged by around 35 per cent in a month, raising concerns about supplies and further price increases during this festive season.
Following a sharp increase in sugar prices, the sugarcane farmers are demanding an increase in the state-advised price (SAP) of sugarcane in both Punjab and Haryana to Rs 600 pr quintal from the current Rs 416 and Rs 415 per quintal, respectively.
At the national level, the sugarcane cultivated area across the country stood at 58.44 lakh hectares as on August 21 as compared with 58.87 lakh hectares reported during the corresponding period last year, marking a decline of 0.43 lakh hectares, as per figures released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
The ministry attributed the overall dip mainly to reduced coverage in Bihar, which saw a fall of 0.30 lakh hectares, and Uttarakhand, where acreage declined by 0.20 lakh hectares.
Maharashtra also recorded a drop of 0.14 lakh hectares, while Punjab and Madhya Pradesh contributed further to the decrease, the report said. It also added that these reductions were partly offset by gains in Uttar Pradesh, which added 0.36 lakh hectares, and Haryana, which recorded an increase of 0.21 lakh hectares.
The drop in area under sugarcane cultivation across the states outweighed the gains, resulting in a net decline for the season.
The Punjab Government is providing the highest SAP for sugarcane in the country at Rs 416 per quintal, reflecting an increase of Rs 15 from the previous year.
Also, a subsidy of Rs 68.50 per quintal is being paid directly to sugarcane farmers on behalf of private sugar mills for the crushing season 2025–26.
Despite the support, the farmers are now not opting to sow sugarcane, leading to the reduction in land under sugarcane cultivation from one lakh hectares to approximately 86,000 hectares.
The reduction in sowing of sugarcane in the state has a direct effect on the sugar mills. Of them, nine are government-owned, and six are private sugar mills.
Six of the seven private mills that operated this season include units in Mukerian, Dasuya, Keeri Afgana, Butter Sevian and Amloh, while the Dhuri mill remained closed for the third consecutive year.
In the cooperative sector, nine mills, including Morinda, Budhewal, Nawanshahr, Nakodar, Fazilka, Bhogpur, Gurdaspur, Batala and Ajnala, were operational.
The crushing capacity of these mills was 772 LMT, but during the last season, these mills could not get 630 LMT sugarcane for crushing. The state produced only 500 lakh quintals approximately, down from 632 lakh quintals last year, marking a decline of nearly 20 per cent, which led to mills shutting operations earlier than usual.
Punjab’s annual cane production averages 780 lakh quintals, out of which nearly 630 lakh quintals reach the mills for crushing.
Out of this, 470 lakh quintals are processed by private mills and the rest are processed by the cooperative sector mills.
When contacted, the officials of the cane commissioner said that the survey of the area under sugarcane in the state this year is ongoing and the final report is yet to come.
"75.9 LMT of sugarcane was produced, and the year before that 72 LMT were produced as floods hit the state, destroying crops in border areas,’’ they added.
While this year, as the area under sugarcane was further decreased, it is estimated that these mills will get much less sugarcane for crushing as compared to last year.
The farmers pointed out that due to labour issues, the crop was not harvested on time. Hurdles in transporting sugarcane to these mills, delay in payments, and the support price that does not cover rising input costs have led the farmers to be disinterested in sowing sugarcane.
"The cost of producing a quintal of sugarcane is at least Rs 450. The SAP should be fixed above that,’’ said Harinder Singh Lakhowal, President of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal).
Prem Singh Bhangu, President of All India Kisan Federation, said the sugar mills need to ensure timely payments to farmers if the state wanted to retain them in sugarcane cultivation.
"The delayed payments are one of the main reasons for farmers moving away from sugarcane cultivation, besides rising cultivation costs and a shortage of labour for harvesting, encouraging farmers to switch to wheat and paddy cultivation,’’ he said.
Both Lakhowal and Bhangu demanded that the SAP should be fixed at Rs 600 per quintal in Punjab.
Also, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Charuni) president Gurnam Singh Charun, who hails from neighbouring Haryana, said that they have been requesting the state government to provide remunerative prices for sugarcane for the last several years. They demanded Rs 500 a quintal but to no avail.
As per the figures from the Directorate of Cane Development, the sugarcane production in Punjab fell from 74.9 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 to 69.1 lakh tonnes in 2025-26.
The production had risen to 75.1 lakh tonnes in both 2022-23 and 2023-24 before declining to 72.8 lakh tonnes in 2024-25.
The decline in sugarcane output comes despite government efforts to promote crop diversification and support sugarcane cultivation.
The shrinking area under cane cultivation could place additional pressure on sugar availability in the coming months, particularly as demand rises during the festive season.
Meanwhile, a leading trader said that sugar costs Rs 65 per kg now. A month ago, it was about Rs 46 per kg and rose to Rs 54 per kg by mid-August.
Notably, the state government has stepped up inspections of sugar traders following complaints that a few dealers are holding stocks beyond the permitted 4,000-quintal limit, raising concerns about hoarding and further price rise ahead of the festive season.
