India dominates global jaggery production, accounting for over 70% of the market share. Recent data shows a 106.5% increase in jaggery exports from 2015–16 to 2024–25, with exports in April–January 2025–26 reaching 450.1 metric tonnes valued at $384.4 million.
Government initiatives like Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana and PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme have played a crucial role in boosting jaggery exports. These efforts, along with GI tagging, have significantly enhanced value addition, supported rural enterprises, and increased export potential. Major export destinations for Indian jaggery include Indonesia, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, and Nepal.
The domestic demand for natural sweeteners, including jaggery and honey, has been on the rise. A compound annual growth rate of 15–20% was recorded for jaggery and honey during 2021–24. This growth is indicative of a growing consumer preference for traditional and natural sweetening products in India.
India’s jaggery sector is closely linked to sugarcane production, with a substantial portion of the country’s sugarcane output being utilized for jaggery production. This sector supports approximately 2.5 million rural livelihoods. Uttar Pradesh leads in sugarcane production, contributing 48.5% of the total output, followed by Maharashtra at 24.1% and Karnataka at 10.5%. Other significant sugarcane-producing states include Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.
The jaggery market in India is expanding, with variants like cane jaggery, palmyra jaggery, and raw jaggery gaining popularity. Jaggery, known for retaining essential nutrients from sugarcane juice, is considered a nutritionally rich natural sweetener. It contains minerals like calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, iron, zinc, copper, and manganese, which are often lost during the refining process of white sugar.
