India's sugar mills have produced 22.6 million tonnes of the sweetener since the season began on October 1, up 24 percent from 18.2 million tonnes a year earlier, industry sources said on Monday. India, the world's top sugar consumer and the biggest producer behind Brazil, is likely to churn out 25 million tonnes in 2010/11 against 18.8 million tonnes in the previous year, Indian Sugar Mills Association, a producers' body, has forecast.
Trade and industry officials say 2010/11 output would reach 25 million tonnes. "We are on track to produce 25 million tonnes this year, as we have reports of higher production from U.P. and Maharashtra," said Vinay Kumar, managing director of the National Federation of Co-operative Sugar Factories, a producers' body of 250 mills.
Output in the western state of Maharashtra, India's biggest sugar producer, is poised to rise by 30 percent to 9.2 million tonnes in 2010/11. Northern state of Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for about a quarter of India's total sugar output, has produced 5.85 million tonnes since October - well above last year's total 5.2 million tonnes.
Kumar said Maharashtra mills would continue crushing until monsoon rains arrive, while mills had already downed shutters in Uttar Pradesh. Maharashtra starts getting monsoon rains from June 10. The industry sources, who have direct knowledge of the matter but are not authorised to speak to the media, said India's sugar inventory rose 30 percent to 14.8 million tonnes on April 1 from a year earlier. The stocks are sufficient to meet the domestic demand of about seven months.
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