PRESS RELEASE

• As on 31^st December, 2015, 470 sugar mills are in operation in the country and they have produced 79.85 lac tons of sugar, which is 6.5% higher as compared to last season’s production for the corresponding period.  In 2014-15 SS, there were 490 sugar mills in operation on 31^st December, 2014 and they produced 74.95 lac tons of sugar till that date.
• In Maharashtra, 169 sugar mills, which are in operation, have produced 33.75 lac tons till 31^st December, 2015, as against 172 sugar mills which operated on the corresponding date last year, produced 32.64 lac tons. From the beginning of the season and till 31^st December, 2015, average sugar recovery% in the State stands at 10.36% as against 10.44% achieved for the corresponding period of 2014-15 SS.
• In Uttar Pradesh, 113 sugar mills are in operation and they have crushed 183.21 lac tons of sugarcane and produced 18.32 lac tons as on 31^st December, 2015, with an average recovery of 10%.  In 2014-15 SS, 118 sugar mills were in operation on 31^st December, 2014 and they crushed around 186 lac tons of cane to produce 16.95 lac tons of sugar with an average recovery of 9.2%.
• 62 sugar mills in Karnataka are in operation on 31^st December, 2015, who have produced 15.50 lac tons of sugar, as compared to 12.43 lac tons produced by 63 sugar mills in 2014-15 SS on 31^st December, 2014. 
• In Gujarat, 19 sugar mills are operating during 2015-16 SS and they have produced 4.40 lac tons of sugar till 31^st December, 2015.  In 2014-15 SS, 18 sugar mills were in operation on 31^st December, 2014, who had produced 3.88 lac tons of sugar till that date.
• In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 25 sugar mills have produced 2.15 lac tons of sugar till 31^st December, 2015 and this is 0.41 lac tons less than the sugar produced by 29 mills in 2014-15 SS till 31^st December, 2014. 
• In Tamil Nadu, 15 sugar mills are in operation as compared to 19 mills operated on 31^st December but sugar production is almost similar at 0.80 lac tons till 31^st December, 2015. 
• Sugar production in other States viz. Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh remained almost at the same level.  Mills of Bihar have produced 1.40 lac tons, Haryana 1.00 lac tons, Punjab 0.95 lac tons, Uttarakhand 0.70 lac tons and Madhya Pradesh 0.75 lac tons.
• Though domestic ex-mill sugar prices have improved in the past fortnight by Rs. 1 to 2 per kilo, the all India average ex-mill price of sugar for the last three months i.e. October to November, 2015, is around Rs. 27-28 per kilo, which is still Rs. 4 to 5 per kilo below the all India average cost of production of sugar.
• As per information available, sugar mills have contracted for export of around 8 lac tons of sugar till date and have physically despatched around 3 lac tons of sugar for exports.  Since there is no parity on export of raw sugar due to high cost of sugarcane in India and depressed global price, sugar mills in India have produced almost negligible quantum of raw sugar and are mainly exporting white sugar.