Sugar mills in the country produced 73.77 lakh tonnes (lt) of sugar till December 15, nearly 61 per cent more than 45.81 lt more than the production in the corresponding period last year, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said in a statement on Thursday.

While 118 mills in Uttar Pradesh produced 22.6 lt of sugar as 21.25 lt produced by 119 mills in the same period last year, the sugar production in Maharashtra where 173 mills are currently crushing, was 26.96 lt. The State, which commenced crushing later last year due to lower availability of sugarcane, produced only 7.66 lt in the same period.

India’s sugar season is between October and September in the following year.

Sugar production in Karnataka — the third largest sugar producing State — was 16.65 lt (10.62 lt). Like in Maharashtra, sugar production was affected significantly in Karnataka, too, last year. Other States contributed another 7.56 lt of sugar so far.