NEW DELHI: India, the world’s second biggest sugar producer, will have sufficient surplus stocks of the commodity to allow exports in the season beginning October 1, a senior government official said on Friday.
Exports by India could weigh on global prices , , but would help the Indian government support local sugar prices and ensure farmers receive the guaranteed minimum price for their cane from sugar mills.
“There will be scope for sugar exports in the new season,” Ashwini Srivastava, joint secretary at the Department of Food and Public Distribution, said at a global conference, without estimating how much might be available for shipment abroad.
India allowed 1 million metric tons of exports in the current marketing year ending in September, despite a drop in production.
Srivastava said next season’s output looked good, and that after meeting domestic consumption and the requirement for ethanol production, there would be sufficient stocks for export, he said.
A record 4.8 billion litres of ethanol is likely to be produced in the new season from sugarcane-based feedstock, he said.
The Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association on Thursday estimated that production would rise to 34.9 million metric tons in the 2025/26 marketing year starting October 1.
The country’s sugar consumption in the new season is likely to rise to between 28.5 million and 29 million metric tons from the current year’s 28 million, Srivastava said.
India will start the new marketing year with carryover stocks of 5 million metric tons, down from 8 million at the start of the current year.
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