📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / akshaybapat4
Agriculture
Maharashtra Sugar Output to Fall as Drought Hits, Ethanol Production Could Decline 30%
✍️ India Today
🗓 21 Oct 2026, 06:32 PM
👁 11
Maharashtra is expected to see a decline in sugar output due to an ongoing drought, with ethanol production potentially falling by up to 30%.
Maharashtra’s sugarcane harvest is projected to shrink as the state grapples with a severe drought that has left fields parched and irrigation systems strained.
Industry analysts warn that the reduced crop yield will directly impact the state’s sugar output, which has traditionally been a major contributor to the national supply.
The same climatic conditions are also expected to curtail the production of ethanol, a biofuel derived from sugarcane, with estimates suggesting a drop of up to 30%.
Farmers and sugar mills across the state are monitoring rainfall patterns closely, hoping for a late monsoon to mitigate the losses.
The government has announced emergency measures to support affected farmers and to ensure that supply chains for sugar and ethanol remain stable.
Industry analysts warn that the reduced crop yield will directly impact the state’s sugar output, which has traditionally been a major contributor to the national supply.
The same climatic conditions are also expected to curtail the production of ethanol, a biofuel derived from sugarcane, with estimates suggesting a drop of up to 30%.
Farmers and sugar mills across the state are monitoring rainfall patterns closely, hoping for a late monsoon to mitigate the losses.
The government has announced emergency measures to support affected farmers and to ensure that supply chains for sugar and ethanol remain stable.