By Azeem Ahmed Khan

Pakistan's sugarcane production is provisionally estimated to increase by 8.8% to 97.29 million tonnes in 2026-27, compared with 89.45 million tonnes in the previous year, as the area under cultivation expands by 11.2%, according to an official document available with Wealth Pakistan.

The Ministry of National Food Security and Research document shows that the area under sugarcane cultivation has increased to 1.358 million hectares from 1.222 million hectares in 2025-26. However, the average yield is estimated to decline by 2.2% to 71,611 kilograms per hectare from 73,197 kilograms per hectare.

Sugarcane is a high-value cash crop in Pakistan and plays an important role in sugar-related industries, which constitute the country's second-largest agro-industrial sector after textiles.

The Federal Committee on Agriculture (FCA) had set a target of 1.147 million hectares for sugarcane cultivation and 80.32 million tonnes of production during 2026-27. However, provisional estimates show that the cultivated area exceeded the target by 18.5%, while production was 21.1% higher than the target.

At the provincial level, Punjab recorded the largest increase in cultivated area, rising by 15.9% to 992,000 hectares from 856,000 hectares in the previous year.

The province's sugarcane production is estimated to increase by 11.8% to 73.756 million tonnes from 65.957 million tonnes, despite a 3.5% decline in average yield to 74,350 kilograms per hectare.

In Sindh, the cultivated area increased marginally by 0.3% to 274,800 hectares, while production rose by the same percentage to 18.534 million tonnes. The average yield remained almost unchanged at 67,444 kilograms per hectare.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded a 0.2% decline in cultivated area to 91,100 hectares, while production decreased by 0.3% to 4.967 million tonnes. The province's average yield fell by 0.1% to 54,517 kilograms per hectare.

Similarly, Balochistan's sugarcane cultivation area declined by 1.4% to 720 hectares, while production dropped by 1.5% to 36,800 tonnes. The average yield decreased by 0.1% to 51,111 kilograms per hectare.

The provincial comparison with FCA targets shows that Punjab exceeded its cultivated area target by 30.4%, while production was 33.8% higher than the target.

In contrast, Sindh's cultivated area remained 5.2% below its target, while production was 7.1% lower than the target.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded shortfalls of 4.1% in cultivated area and 4.5% in production against its respective targets.

Balochistan's cultivated area exceeded its target by 2.9%, but production remained 18.2% below the target. Its average yield was also 20.5% below the target.

At the national level, however, the average sugarcane yield was estimated at 2.2% above the FCA target, despite declining compared with the previous year's level.

The provisional figures indicate that the projected increase in national sugarcane production during 2026-27 is primarily driven by an expansion in cultivated area, particularly in Punjab, rather than higher average yields.

Credit: INP-WealthPk