Sugar mills produce 1.36m tons
Punjab sugar mills have produced 1.36 million metric tons of sugar during the first 45 days of the ongoing crushing season as all 41 operational mills in the province processed a total of 15.06 million metric tons of sugarcane by December 31, 2025.
According to data obtained by Wealth Pakistan from the office of the Punjab cane commissioner, the average sugar recovery rate during the initial 45 days of crushing improved to 9.43%, up from 9.01% recorded during the same period of last year. The improvement is attributed to better-quality sugarcane and enhanced mill efficiency.
Total sugar availability in the province, including carryover stocks, currently stands at 1.47 million metric tons. Of this, 625,341 tons have already been sold, representing 42.41% of total availability and marking an improvement of 3.84 percentage points over the corresponding period of last year.
Year-on-year data shows that sugar mills processed an additional 1.14 million metric tons of sugarcane and produced 156,590 metric tons of more sugar compared to the previous season.
Punjab Cane Commissioner Amjad Hafeez told Wealth Pakistan that the improved performance was largely due to the stricter enforcement of relevant laws and regulations. "The situation has improved significantly this season due to effective monitoring and compliance," he said.
The commissioner said that farmers had supplied sugarcane worth Rs98.8 billion so far, out of which Rs87 billion had already been paid, reflecting a payment compliance rate of 88%. Farmers received an average price of Rs401 per 40 kilogrammes of sugarcane this season, compared to Rs387 during the previous year.
Sugar millers maintain that the crushing season is progressing smoothly across the province, ensuring adequate sugar availability at stable prices.
Pakistan Sugar Mills Association's former central chairman Javed Kiyani said the current phase represented the peak selling season for mills and expressed hope that both growers and millers would benefit.
He noted that the ex-mill sugar price in Punjab had declined to Rs139 per kilogramme, compared to Rs134 per kilogramme in Sindh, and may decrease further in the coming days.
According to sugar dealers, the ex-mill price could fall to around Rs130 per kg or slightly higher if the current pace of crushing continues.
Lahore Sugar Dealers Association President Muhammad Amjad said retail prices could drop below Rs150 per kg if market conditions remained stable.