The Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) has welcomed the Government’s decision to allow the export of 15 lakh tons of sugar during the 2025–26 Sugar Season (SS).
Deepak Ballani, DG, ISMA said that this timely move will enable sugar mills to plan their production in advance, channel surplus sugar into global markets, and help maintain domestic price stability.
“We thank the Government for its timely and progressive decision to permit sugar exports. These steps reflect a balanced approach to managing domestic and global market realities. At the same time, we urge the Government to consider revising the sugar MSP and ethanol procurement prices to ensure the financial health of the industry and timely cane payments to farmers,” he said.
ISMA released the First Advance Estimates last week, which stated that the country’s net sugar production for SS 2025–26 is projected at 309.5 lakh tons, after accounting for 34 lakh tons diverted towards ethanol production, with stable domestic consumption of around 285 lakh tons.
“Based on these estimates, the country is expected to have a closing stock of approximately 74.5 lakh tons, allowing room for further exports. ISMA appreciates the Government’s proactive approach and looks forward to the possibility of permitting additional sugar exports as the season progresses and production clarity improves”, Ballani said.
“Nevertheless, as a long-term measure, ISMA strongly reiterates the urgent need to revise the Minimum Selling Price (MSP) of sugar, which has remained unchanged for over six years despite a steady escalation in production costs,” he said.
The DG said that with recent increases in sugarcane prices announced by key producing states such as Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, the cost of sugar production for 2025–26 is estimated to rise sharply to around ₹41.7 per kg. An upward revision in MSP is therefore essential to ensure that sugar mills remain viable, can make timely payments to farmers, and maintain overall financial stability within the sector.
ISMA has also urged the Government to enhance the ethanol procurement price to reflect higher feedstock and conversion costs.
“The current allocation of only 289 crore litres of ethanol to the sugar sector for ESY 2025–26 — merely 27.5% of total allocations — has created a serious imbalance and left a large part of distillery capacity underutilised. To ensure optimum utilisation and long-term stability, ISMA has requested that ethanol allocation to the sugar industry be made in line with the NITI Aayog’s Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Roadmap, which emphasises a 55% contribution from the sugar sector,” Ballani said.
The Association believes that continued Government support through timely policy interventions, including increasing the sugar MSP to ₹40–41 per kg, ensuring fair ethanol procurement pricing, and adopting balanced ethanol allocation, will be crucial to ensuring the financial stability of sugar mills and mitigating the risk of cane arrears.
It remains committed to working collaboratively with the Government to safeguard farmer interests and strengthen India’s sugar and bio-energy ecosystem.
