NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs plans to collect monthly sugar production data in real time to improve estimates of domestic output and regulate prices, reducing its reliance on private sources.
The data will help the government assess production trends and make timely policy decisions. A senior official said mistakes in last year’s sugar policy had contributed to a sharp rise in retail prices.
Last year, sugar mills’ lobby projected inflated production figures, prompting the government to allow exports and divert a significant quantity of sugar for ethanol production. The new data system, however, will be used only for internal government purposes.
Under the digital P2 format, sugar mills will add a column to record estimated sugar crushing and monthly estimates of sugar availability and production.
An official said, “Previously, this data was recorded manually and became late, making it difficult to verify claims. Now, with just one month of data, it can be easily tracked if the government agency wants to verify the claims.”
The government will also collect production estimates from state sugar commissioners and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
“We will obtain a fair estimation from all three sources to enable timely intervention,” the official stated.
The move comes amid concerns over rising sugar prices ahead of the festive season. With domestic prices reaching a 16-year high, the government allowed the duty-free import of one million tonnes of raw sugar. Processed sugar from these imports must be supplied to the domestic market by October 31, 2026. The government had also authorised sugar exports of 800,000 tonnes.
For the current sugar year, from October 2026 to September 2027, the government has decided against diverting sugar for ethanol production, citing deficient rainfall and a reduction in sugar acreage compared with last year. Low carryover stocks and the expected decline in production have added to the concerns over sugar availability.
India produced 31 million tonnes of sugar last year. Of this, three million tonnes were diverted for ethanol production and 800,000 tonnes were exported, with the remainder allocated for domestic consumption. Experts expect production to be lower this year.
Meanwhile, the Indian Sugar and Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) said the 2026–27 sugar season had begun on schedule in major sugar-producing states. Nearly 107 mills had started crushing operations in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
According to ISMA, sugar production had reached around 400,000 tonnes as of October 25, 2026, compared with about 60,000 tonnes on the same date last year.
