The country's SUGAR production rose 3. 69% to 120. 7 lakh tonnes in the October-December quarter of the ongoing marketing year, according to the industry body ISMA. Sugar production in India, one of the world's major producers of the sweetener, stood at 116. 4 lakh tonnes in the same period of the previous marketing year. Sugar marketing year runs from October to September. 

According to the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), about 509 mills were operating against 500 mills in the said period. 
Sugar production in Uttar Pradesh reached the year-ago level of 30. 9 lakh tonnes, while in Maharashtra it rose marginally to 46. 8 lakh tonnes during October-December of the 2022-23 marketing year, as against 45. 8 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period, it said in a statement. 
Sugar production in Karnataka rose slightly to 26. 7 lakh tonnes, as against 26. 1 lakh tonnes in the said period. The production of SUGARhas reached 3. 8 lakh tonnes in Gujarat, 2. 6 lakh tonnes in Tamil Nadu and in other states to 9. 9 lakh tonnes during October-December of the ongoing marketing year, ISMA said. 
ISMA has projected SUGAR production to be 365 lakh tonnes in the 2022-23 marketing year, an increase of 2 per cent compared to 358 lakh tonnes in the 2021-22 marketing year. – PTI