UP leads in sugar recovery efficiency

• Uttar Pradesh leads India in sugar recovery for the 2025-26 season
• The state achieved a 10.2% recovery rate, beating Maharashtra and Karnataka
• UP mills show higher per-mill productivity than other major states

Uttar Pradesh is sweetening its success, topping the charts in sugar recovery for the current season! Learn how UP outpaced its rivals and what makes its sugar production so efficient.

UP's Sweet Leading Edge

In the ongoing 2025-26 sugarcane season, Uttar Pradesh has firmly established itself as the leader in sugar recovery efficiency among the nation's primary sugar-producing states. This impressive performance places UP ahead of both Maharashtra and Karnataka, not just in the percentage of sugar extracted from sugarcane but also in the productivity of individual mills. A report from the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Limited (NFCSF) indicates that UP has achieved an overall sugar recovery rate of 10.2% as of Wednesday. This figure surpasses Maharashtra's recovery rate of 9.5% and Karnataka's 8.6%. Furthermore, UP's performance exceeds the national average sugar recovery percentage, which stands at 9.55%. This signifies a substantial advancement in the state's sugar processing capabilities and its contribution to the national sugar output, setting a new benchmark for operational excellence in the industry.

Mill Performance Comparison

Beyond the overall recovery rate, Uttar Pradesh demonstrates superior operational strength when examining the individual performance of its sugar mills. The state, with its 121 mills, has processed an impressive 874.51 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of sugarcane, yielding 89.20 LMT of sugar. On a per-mill basis, this translates to an average of 7.22 LMT of cane crushed and a substantial 0.74 LMT of sugar produced by each facility. This contrasts significantly with other major states. Maharashtra, despite processing a larger total volume of sugarcane (1044.21 LMT) across its 210 mills and producing more sugar overall (99.2 LMT), shows lower per-mill averages, with each mill crushing 4.97 LMT of cane and producing 0.47 LMT of sugar. Karnataka, operating 81 mills and crushing 548.26 LMT of cane for 47.15 LMT of sugar, also lags behind UP in per-mill output, though its mills are more efficient than Maharashtra's on average, crushing 6.76 LMT of cane and producing 0.58 LMT of sugar per mill. UP's decisive lead in per-mill averages underscores its robust operational efficiency.