Chandigarh: The Haryana government on Friday raised concerns about the future of the state’s sugar sector, saying sugarcane production in the 2025–26 season could drop sharply compared to 2020–21 as farmers gradually move away from the crop, Hindustan Times reported.
The information was shared by Cooperation Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma in a reply to a calling attention notice raised by BJP MLA Ghanshyam Dass in the state assembly. Sharma said farmers are turning away from sugarcane due to falling yields, rising cultivation costs and lower returns.
The minister said the area under sugarcane cultivation had initially increased from 2.46 lakh acres in 2020–21 to 2.66 lakh acres in 2022–23. However, the trend reversed after that period, and the acreage has been declining steadily.
According to government estimates, the average yield of sugarcane is also expected to decline. In 2025–26, the yield is projected at about 330 quintals per acre, around 5.2 percent lower than the 348 quintals per acre recorded in 2020–21.
Sharma informed the House that the area under sugarcane cultivation may decline by nearly 83,658 acres compared to 2020–21. With less area under the crop, sugar mills are also receiving lower quantities of sugarcane for crushing.
The government estimates that sugarcane production in 2025–26 could fall to about 536 lakh quintals. This would be nearly 323 lakh quintals, or about 37.55 percent, lower than the 859 lakh quintals produced in 2020–21. Due to the reduced supply of cane, sugar mills in the state are likely to operate for only about 108 days during the season.
While raising the issue in the House, Yamunanagar MLA Ghanshyam Dass said the steady drop in yield per acre is pushing farmers to abandon sugarcane cultivation. He said the falling productivity has reduced the total area under the crop and affected the supply of cane to sugar mills.
The MLA also pointed out that farmers are suffering financial losses because of the declining yields and lower availability of cane, which he described as a serious concern for the sector.
He noted that sugar mills usually operate for around 170 to 180 days during a normal crushing season. However, in the current season, the average working period may fall to about 105 days, which he said signals trouble for the sugar industry.
Sugarcane is considered one of the main cash crops in Haryana, but the state has recorded a noticeable decline in both the cultivated area and the average yield in recent years.
The government said one of the main reasons behind the decline is the rising cost of labour. Since sugarcane farming requires large amounts of labour, the shortage of workers and higher wages have made the crop less attractive for farmers.
Sharma said sugarcane cultivation also involves higher costs and offers lower profits compared to some other cropping systems. Because of this, many farmers are shifting to crop patterns such as wheat–paddy and potato–maize–paddy.
The minister added that the government is running awareness programmes to promote modern farming methods for sugarcane. Under a technology mission, the subsidy for planting sugarcane in wider row spacing has been increased from Rs 3,000 per acre to Rs 5,000 per acre to improve productivity.
Farmers are also being given a subsidy of Rs 3,000 per acre for adopting the single bud planting method, while disease-free seeds are being supplied with financial support of Rs 5,000 per acre.
Sharma said climate change has also affected some early varieties of sugarcane, which have been hit by pests such as top borer and root borer as well as wilt disease. These factors, he said, have contributed to the fall in yield and overall production.
