India exports 2.76 lakh tonnes of sugar in last 40 days: AISTA

Sugar mills have exported 2.76 lakh tonnes of sugar in the last 40 days of the current marketing year with maximum shipments to the UAE, trade body AISTA said on Wednesday.

Over 1.44 lakh tonnes of sugar is under loading, All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA) said in a statement.

Mills have contracted to export 18 lakh tonnes of sugar without government subsidy so far in the 2021-22 marketing year, it added.

The sugar marketing year runs from October to September. Sugar exports this year are being undertaken without government subsidy.

According to AISTA, mills have exported a total of 2,76,676 tonnes of sugar from October 1 to November 9, 2021.

Of the total exports undertaken so far, maximum export has been to the UAE at 1.08 lakh tonnes, followed by Bangladesh at 52,330 tonnes, Somalia at Rs 24,960 tonnes and Iran at Rs 22,646 tonnes.

"Due to delay in start of the mills, the raw sugar exports are slow in spite of contracting 18 lakh tonnes of sugar," AISTA said.

The exports are taking place mostly from sugar mills of Maharasthra and Karnataka. Export of 18,290 tonnes of sugar to Sri Lanka took place despite the country facing foreign exchange difficulties, the trade body said.

The current ex-factory sugar prices in north India and Bihar have been in the range of Rs 35,500-37,500 per tonne and hence the quantity of sugar exported by the mills in north India are negligible, it added.

During the 2020-21 marketing year, India had exported a record 72.3 lakh tonnes of the sweetener. The maximum shipments were undertaken with the help of government subsidy.