Sugar production hit by Red Rot disease, El Nino; govt taking measures: Pralhad Joshi
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has attributed a decline in domestic sugar production to red rot disease in sugarcane and El Niño-related weather conditions, which have affected agricultural output both in India and globally.
The government announced measures to manage sugar availability and stabilise retail prices ahead of the festival season, including temporary imports of raw sugar.
Official data cited India's annual sugar requirement at approximately 280 lakh tonnes, with a current surplus of 20-25 lakh tonnes over that requirement despite the production decline.
Retail sugar prices rose over a one-month period (from about ₹48/kg to about ₹56/kg), prompting the government response.
Separately, the Ministry noted that the share of sugar diverted for ethanol production has declined in recent years (from about 12% in 2022-23 to about 9% in 2025-26), with grain-based feedstock now accounting for a growing share of ethanol output.
Red Rot Disease — Sugarcane's "Cancer"
Red rot, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum falcatum, is one of the most destructive diseases of sugarcane, often referred to as the "cancer of sugarcane" because of its severe, often irreversible impact on yield and juice quality. The fungus causes reddening and rotting of the internal stalk tissue, spreading through infected soil and planting material (setts), and significantly reduces both cane tonnage and recoverable sugar content.
Key Details
- Causal organism: the fungus Colletotrichum falcatum (Went).
- Transmission: primarily through infected setts (seed cane) and soil-borne inoculum; spreads rapidly in susceptible varieties grown continuously in the same fields.
- Management measures include use of disease-resistant cane varieties, hot-water treatment of setts, crop rotation, and field sanitation — research and varietal release for resistant strains falls under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research's Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research (IISR), Lucknow.
Red rot outbreak is cited as one of the two primary agronomic causes (alongside El Niño-linked weather stress) for the reported fall in India's sugarcane and sugar output this season.
El Niño and Agricultural Output
El Niño is the warm phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a periodic warming of central and eastern Pacific Ocean surface temperatures that alters global atmospheric circulation. In India, El Niño years are historically associated with weaker southwest monsoon rainfall, which can depress yields of monsoon-dependent crops including sugarcane, a water-intensive crop largely grown in monsoon-fed and irrigated tracts of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka.
Key Details
- ENSO has two phases: El Niño (warming, generally associated with weaker Indian monsoon) and La Niña (cooling, generally associated with a stronger monsoon) — monitored by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) as a key input for the Southwest Monsoon forecast.
- Sugarcane is a long-duration (10-18 month), water-intensive crop; rainfall deficits during critical growth stages directly affect cane yield and sucrose recovery.
- The India Meteorological Department and the Ministry of Earth Sciences track ENSO indices (e.g., Oceanic Niño Index) to issue seasonal monsoon and crop-output outlooks.
El Niño conditions are cited as a second, weather-driven cause compounding the disease-driven shortfall in sugar production, illustrating how a single climatic driver can simultaneously affect India and other cane/sugar-producing countries globally.
Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) — Sugarcane Pricing Framework
The Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) is the minimum price that sugar mills are legally required to pay cane growers, replacing the earlier Statutory Minimum Price (SMP) framework from the 2009-10 sugar season onward. FRP is determined under the Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966, issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
Key Details
- Statutory basis: Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966, under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
- FRP replaced SMP starting the 2009-10 sugar season; mills must pay FRP to growers within 14 days of cane delivery.
- Recommending body: CACP; approving body: CCEA (chaired by the Prime Minister) — distinct from MSP for foodgrains, though both use CACP as the recommending body.
- FRP is linked to a base sugar recovery rate, with a premium/discount for recovery above/below this base — distinguishing it from a flat per-quintal price.
Concerns about grower payment timelines and farmer incentives directly implicate the FRP mechanism, since delayed or inadequate FRP payment affects farmers' willingness to sustain cane acreage, a factor relevant to production trends alongside disease and weather shocks.
Ethanol Blending Programme and Sugar-to-Ethanol Diversion
India's Ethanol Blending Programme, under the National Policy on Biofuels (2018), mandates blending ethanol with petrol, with the target of 20% blending (E20) originally set for 2030 but advanced to 2025 (achieved ahead of schedule). Sugarcane juice, B-heavy molasses, and C-heavy molasses (and increasingly grains such as maize and damaged foodgrain) are permitted feedstocks, creating a direct link between sugar-sector output decisions and ethanol supply.
Key Details
- National Policy on Biofuels: notified 2018; E20 target advanced from 2030 to 2025 (achieved ahead of schedule).
- Feedstocks permitted for ethanol: sugarcane juice/syrup, B-heavy and C-heavy molasses, and grain-based sources (maize, damaged foodgrains, surplus rice).
- Nodal ministry: Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, in coordination with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (for sugar/food-grain feedstock allocation).
- The share of cane-derived sugar diverted to ethanol is a policy lever the government can adjust between sugar availability and biofuel targets, since diverting more cane to ethanol reduces sugar output and vice versa.
The reported shift in diversion share (cane-based feedstock share declining as grain-based ethanol share rises) is presented as a policy response balancing sugar price stability against continued progress on the ethanol blending target.
- India's annual sugar requirement: approximately 280 lakh tonnes; current surplus cited: 20-25 lakh tonnes.
- Retail sugar price movement cited: approximately ₹48/kg to approximately ₹56/kg over a one-month period ahead of the festival season.
- Government response: temporary imports of raw sugar to manage domestic availability.
- Red rot causal agent: fungus Colletotrichum falcatum.
- FRP governed by: Sugarcane (Control) Order, 1966 (under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955); recommended by CACP, approved by CCEA; in force since the 2009-10 season (replacing SMP).
- Ethanol Blending Programme: National Policy on Biofuels, 2018; E20 target advanced from 2030 to 2025, achieved ahead of schedule.
- Cane-based share of ethanol feedstock cited as declining from about 12% (2022-23) to about 9% (2025-26), with grain-based ethanol comprising a growing share of production.