“During consultation with the Government of India, the sugar industry agreed to commence the 2026–27 sugar season at the earliest possible date, based on prevailing agro-climatic conditions. This proactive decision reflects the industry’s commitment to ensuring orderly market supplies and maintaining adequate sugar availability across the country. An early start to crushing will bring fresh sugar into the market sooner, further strengthening domestic supplies, enhancing market confidence, and dispelling any unwarranted concerns regarding sugar availability,” according to a joint statement by ISMA and NFCSF.
The industry bodies said the recent increase in sugar prices is not supported by demand-supply fundamentals. They cautioned that creating a false perception of scarcity despite ample stocks could fuel unnecessary market volatility, disrupt normal trade, and adversely affect consumers as well as downstream industries.
In the statement, ISMA and NFCSF urged traders, wholesalers, institutional buyers, retailers, and other market participants to refrain from speculative buying, hoarding, or spreading misleading information about sugar availability. Such actions, they said, create artificial uncertainty and run counter to the interests of consumers, farmers, and the sugar industry.
In April, ISMA revised its estimate of India’s gross sugar production for the season ending September 30 to 32 MT, down from its earlier projection of 32.4 MT.
Meanwhile, India’s sugar output for 2026-27, starting October, is forecast to rise 12% to nearly 33.6 million tonnes (MT) from 30 MT this year, on better cane crop conditions and higher recovery, per the USDA’s local office. For 2025-26, cane production estimates have been cut to 455 MT from 465 million tonnes. Excessive rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka during late August and September 2025 disrupted crop development and weighed on yields.