MUMBAI (Reuters) – Indian sugar mills produced 27.35 million tonnes of the sweetener between Oct. 1 and March 15, nearly 6 percent more than a year earlier, as a few mills started crushing earlier than usual, a producers’ body said on Monday.

Mills in the western state of Maharashtra produced 10 million tonnes of sugar during the period, up 6.6 percent from a year ago, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said in a statement.

Out of 527 sugar mills that were operational in the current marketing year ending on Sept. 30, 154 mills have stopped crushing, the trade body said.

The world’s biggest sugar consumer is likely to produce 30.7 million tonnes of the sweetener in 2018/19 , down from 32.5 million tonnes a year ago due to lower cane yields and diversion of cane for ethanol production, ISMA has said.