Sugar Recovery Rate

The sugar recovery rate measures how much crystalline sugar a mill obtains from the sugarcane it crushes. It is expressed as sugar produced as a percentage of the weight of cane crushed, so a 10 percent recovery rate means that 100 kg of cane yields about 10 kg of sugar.

Measurement and interpretation

The rate is calculated as: sugar produced divided by sugarcane crushed, multiplied by 100. It is an output-based measure that reflects both the cane's recoverable sugar and the mill's ability to extract it.

• A higher recovery rate means that more sugar is obtained from the same quantity of cane.
• Recovery is distinct from the cane's sucrose content, because some sugar remains unextracted or is lost during processing.

What determines recovery

Recovery varies across regions, seasons and mills because it depends on agricultural conditions as well as milling performance.

• The variety and maturity of sugarcane influence its sucrose accumulation.
• Climate, irrigation and crop health affect the quality of cane supplied to mills.
• A long delay between harvesting and crushing can reduce recoverable sugar.
• Extraction technology and operational efficiency determine how much available sugar the mill recovers.

Economic significance

Recovery directly affects the quantity of saleable sugar and therefore the economics of milling. Under the Union government's Fair and Remunerative Price framework, the cane price is linked to a prescribed basic recovery rate, with a premium for higher recovery.

• Higher recovery lowers the quantity of cane required to produce a given amount of sugar.
• Recovery differences help explain variations in mill viability and cane-paying capacity across regions.