# Mills unlikely to advance sugar crushing season 2026-08-12T15:40:15+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Most sugar mills are unlikely to start crushing 15 days early despite industry bodies promising the government they would, ET reports. The main obstacle is a shortage of migrant labour, which is typically available only around Diwali in November. Sugar prices have already risen 6.5 per cent in a month to Rs 50.7 per kg, prompting government measures including stock limits and export bans. The Indian Sugar & Bio-energy Manufacturers Association and the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories had proposed starting the 2026-27 season 10-15 days early to ease supply ahead of the festive season. Early crushing could hurt sugar recovery because immature cane has lower sucrose, but mills have asked for compensation for such losses. ## Coverage - livemint.com - economictimes.indiatimes.com Tags: cane yields, crushing season, festival supply, ISMA, sugar industry, sugar prices Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sugar-industry-seeks-early-crushing-to-ease-festive-prices/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sugar-industry-seeks-early-crushing-to-ease-festive-prices/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.