Releasing a preliminary estimate, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said about 45 lakh tonnes of sugar will be diverted towards production of ethanol in the next season 2023-24, as compared to about 41 lakh tonnes in current season.

The country's sugar production is pegged lower by 3.41 per cent to 316.80 lakh tonnes in the new season that will begin from October 2023, due to more diversion of cane for ethanol production, according to the industry body ISMA. In the ongoing 2022-23 season (October-September), sugar production is estimated at 328 lakh tonnes.

Sugar production in the 2023-24 season is, however, estimated to be higher than the domestic consumption of 275 lakh tonnes, leaving a surplus of 42 lakh tonnes at the end of the season, it added. Total sugarcane acreage remains slightly higher at 59.81 lakh hectare in 2023-24, as against 59.07 lakh hectare in the previous year.