ARTICLE 4 #AgriEconomy

A special meeting of the Sugar Advisory Board was held under the co-chairmanship of Ishaq Dar (Deputy Prime Minister) and the Federal Minister for National Food Security, Rana Tanveer Hussain, to review the sugar market situation, imported sugar stocks and the closure of the S-Track portal.

Sugar mill owners across Pakistan have raised strong objections against government policies, claiming that recent administrative decisions have triggered an unprecedented surge in sugar prices.

A total of 214 sugar mills across Maharashtra have applied to the Sugar Commissioner’s office in Pune for permission to commence sugar-cane crushing from November 1, the official start date for the 2025–26 crushing season.

The SAP rise is intended to benefit sugarcane farmers in UP by giving them higher assured price for their produce. This can boost their incomes. The increased cost of raw material (cane) squeezes margins, especially when sugar selling prices and ethanol procurement rates are not rising equivalently.

In a surprising turn for the agricultural sector, both corn and soybean have seen a bumper arrival across major mandis this week. Favorable weather conditions and higher-than-expected yields have led to record supplies, pushing prices to their lowest levels in recent months.

Uttar Pradesh, India’s largest sugar-producing state, is expected to record a 2% increase in sugar production this season, even as the area under sugarcane cultivation has slightly declined. 🚜According to industry officials, the rise in production is being driven by higher sugar recovery rates and improved farm productivity across major cane-growing districts such as Meerut, Saharanpur, and Muzaffarnagar.

Maize farmers across the country are facing one of the steepest price declines in recent years, raising alarms within the agricultural sector. According to farmer groups, the sudden crash in maize prices has left many producers unable to cover their basic production costs, pushing them toward financial distress.