Guangdong's 2025/26 Crushing Season Progress Slows, Sugar Output Estimated at 620,000 Tons
As of March 19th, Guangdong's Zhanjiang region is experiencing a slower crushing season for 2025/26, with 10 mills finished but 7 still operating, a delay attributed to later start dates. The province's total sugar production is projected to reach approximately 620,000 tons, a slight decrease from the previous season's 650,000 tons. This reduction is primarily due to the adverse impact of typhoons on sugarcane yields and sugar content.
According to the latest statistics from Fantang Technology, as of March 19th, the 2025/26 crushing season in Guangdong's Zhanjiang production area is still underway. Currently, 10 sugar mills have completed their production for the season, but 7 mills are still operating. This indicates a noticeable slowdown in the overall crushing progress compared to the previous season, with approximately four more mills still in operation at this point.
The primary reason for the delayed crushing progress this season is that sugar mills in Guangdong generally commenced operations 1 to 2 weeks later than usual. Based on current production schedules, the last mills are expected to cease operations in early April, marking the full conclusion of the crushing season for Guangdong's sugarcane sugar-producing regions.
Regarding sugar output, as of mid-to-late March, Guangdong's cumulative sugar production is estimated to have exceeded 550,000 tons. Taking into account the current production pace and subsequent crushing plans, Fantang Technology projects the province's total sugar output for the 2025/26 season to be around 620,000 tons. This figure represents a slight decrease compared to the previous season's 650,000 tons.
Despite a slight increase in sugarcane planting acreage this season, the decline in sugar production is primarily attributed to adverse weather conditions impacting raw sugarcane. It is understood that strong typhoons such as "Mina" and "Hagupit" (referred to as "Huajiaxia" in the source) repeatedly struck Guangdong's sugarcane growing areas, causing widespread lodging of sugarcane. This severely affected both sugarcane yield per unit area and its sugar content. Consequently, the cumulative sugar recovery rate for Guangdong this season is projected to be around 10.25%, a decrease of 0.51 percentage points from the previous season's 10.76%. Fantang Technology will continue to monitor and provide updates on sugar mill crushing and production data.