According to the data provided by Maharashtra government, the state sugar production as on March 12 stood at 9.9 million tonnes against 10.15 million tonnes produced on the same day of previous year; down by 2.42%. “The sugarcane availability in Maharashtra and Karnataka is higher than what was expected earlier. However, cane availability in another major state Uttar Pradesh is predicted to be lower than earlier estimates,” said ISMA in a statement.