ISLAMABAD, Feb 12 (APP):As more than 70 percent of the current sugarcane crop has already been crushed by 41 sugar mills operating across Punjab, farmers in the province have begun cultivating the spring sugarcane crop within the recommended planting window of February and March.
Talking to Wealth Pakistan, Director of Sugarcane Research Institute (SRI) Faisalabad Dr Kashif Munir said that spring sowing accounts for nearly 70 percent of total sugarcane cultivation in Punjab. “In comparison, September cultivation contributes only 10 to 15 percent, while the remaining crop is produced through ratoon cultivation,” he explained.
Sugarcane ratoon refers to the regrowth of the crop from underground stubble left after harvesting the previous plant crop.
Dr Munir said that the recommended sugarcane varieties for the current spring season include CPF-253, CP-77-400, HSF-240 and CPF-237. He added that newly-approved varieties — FDP-254, S2016 and S-284 — are also available for cultivation in Punjab this year. According to him, prevailing weather conditions are favourable for spring sugarcane cultivation.
However, representatives of the farming community pointed out that sugar mills generally prefer September-sown sugarcane, as it matures over 15 months, compared to the 10-month maturity period of the spring crop.
“Sugar mills obtain higher sucrose recovery from September-grown sugarcane, but farmers incur losses because autumn sowing forces them to forgo up to three cropping cycles,” said Ebadur Rehman Khan, Director of Farmers Associates Pakistan (FAP).
Punjab’s sugar industry performance during the current crushing season has shown notable improvement. According to Cane Commissioner Punjab Amjad Hafeez, sugar mills have so far crushed 30.83 million tons of sugarcane, producing 2.93 million tons of sugar.
“This is a marked improvement compared to last year, when mills crushed 28.60 million tons of sugarcane and produced 2.59 million tons of sugar during the same period,” he told Wealth Pakistan. He said the average recovery rate has increased to 9.69 percent, up from 9.18 percent last year.
The cane commissioner noted that the carry-forward sugar stock has declined sharply to 0.11 million tons, compared to 0.60 million tons last year. As a result, total sugar availability in the province currently stands at 3.04 million tons.
He said that 1.20 million tons of sugar has been sold so far during the current season, leaving a closing balance of 1.83 million tons.
Hafeez further stated that the provincial average sugarcane price received by growers stands at Rs460 per 40 kg. The minimum price of Rs400 per 40kg was recorded in Kot Addu and Sargodha, while the maximum price of Rs580 per 40kg was observed in Mianwali.
With increased sugar availability in the market, ex-mill sugar prices are currently ranging between Rs142 and Rs146 per kilogram, while retail prices are observed between Rs145 and Rs160 per kg. According to the Punjab Bureau of Statistics (February 2, 2026), sugar prices across the province range from Rs145 to Rs170 per kg.
Regarding payments to growers, the Punjab cane commissioner said that during the 2025-26 crushing season, sugar mills have purchased sugarcane worth Rs342.53 billion, against which Rs317.46 billion has already been paid. “The outstanding balance stands at Rs25.08 billion only, representing a payment clearance rate of 92.68 percent,” he said.