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Bihar’s sugar mills have failed to meet the state’s target of operating for 150 days, running for only 97 days in the last financial year due to a shortage of sugarcane. This is 10 days fewer than the previous year, when mills crushed cane for 107 days in 2024-25.
The Sugar Mill Association said mills were unable to run longer because they did not receive an adequate supply of cane, and that the 150-day crushing target can only be met once the cane supply improves sufficiently. As a result, the state’s Cane Industry Department has stepped up efforts to expand the area under sugarcane cultivation, with farmers being encouraged to plant early-season (agat) crops. Preparations are also underway in the state for a Ganna Mahotsav (Cane Festival), and technology is being deployed to make cane cultivation easier for farmers.
The state government is also expanding the number of sugar mills. A foundation-laying ceremony is planned in November to restart the Sakri and Raiyam sugar mills, and the government has decided to set up 25 new sugar mills. However, officials note that mills can operate at full capacity only once cane availability improves.
On a positive note, the cane recovery rate in the last crushing season was the highest in the past five years. The recovery rate stood at 10.30 percent in 2025-26, up from 10.25 percent in 2024-25, 10.05 percent in 2023-24, 10.15 percent in 2022-23, and 9.8 percent in 2021-22.
Looking at crushing duration over the past four years, mills ran for the longest stretch of 131 days in 2023-24, a year that saw a good cane harvest. This was followed by 120 days in 2022-23 and 107 days in 2024-25.
More details: https://www.chinimandi.com/bihar-sugar-mills-fall-short-of-150-day-crushing-target-manage-only-97-days/