Maharashtra’s sugarcane crushing season for 2026-27 will begin on October 15, as decided by the state government’s ministerial committee chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The decision was taken at a meeting in Mumbai to finalise the policy for the upcoming season, with discussions focusing on sugarcane availability, crushing plans, sugar production, farmer payments and financial challenges facing sugar mills.
The committee reviewed the 2025-26 crushing season, national sugar stocks, pending Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) and Revenue Recovery Certificate (RRC) payments, ethanol supply, co-generation projects and preparations for the new season. It also discussed season-wise FRP and the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar, deductions made by mills for government initiatives and contributions to the Gopinath Munde Sugarcane Workers Welfare Board. The discussions aimed to balance the interests of sugarcane farmers and the sugar industry.
To help mills clear pending dues, the committee considered restarting the interest subsidy under the soft-loan scheme. It also discussed a subsidy of ₹1.50 per unit for sugar mills whose power purchase agreements for co-generation projects have expired, similar to the support provided during the 2023-24 season. Other proposals included relaxing the mandatory use of jute bags for sugar packaging and providing financial and technical incentives for compressed biogas (CBG) projects. 
A special sugarcane development scheme was also discussed to improve sugarcane production and productivity in Maharashtra. The proposed measures include promoting improved sugarcane varieties, nurseries, treatment of planting material, drip irrigation, balanced use of chemical and organic fertilisers, modern cultivation practices and mechanisation. The committee also considered recommendations to the Centre for increasing the minimum selling price of sugar, raising ethanol prices and releasing pending interest subsidies for ethanol projects.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, Cooperation Minister Babasaheb Patil, Agriculture Minister Dattatray Bharane, Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Chief Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal and senior officials from various departments.
