Isma lowers sugar output estimate to 24.2 mt

India’s sugar production in the 2010-11 crop marketing season was estimated to be 24.2 million tonnes (mt), down from the earlier estimates of 25 mt, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma), the country’s premier association of sugar industry, said.

However, the marginal drop in output is not expected to have any significant impact on prices as supplies are still expected to be more than the annual demand of 22 mt.

Sugar production for the season, which started in October 2010, has been revised downwards because of lower-than-expected output in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s second-largest producer of the sweetener.

Production in Maharashtra, the country’s largest sugar producer, is now estimated to be 9.25 mt, almost 1.5 per cent less than earlier estimate of 9.4 mt. Isma’s latest production numbers is very close to the government’s official sugar production estimate of 24.2 mt to 24.5 mt.

The government had recently allowed exports of 480,000 tonnes of sugar under the open general license after a gap of almost two years because of higher output.

The announcement for export of around 500,000 tonnes of sugar under the open general licence (OGL) was made in December 2010 by the then food minister Sharad Pawar. OGL is a permit the government gives to mills to export sugar without any restriction and conditions.

However, formal orders were issued only in April, after a delay of more than two months as the matter was referred to an empowered group of ministers for further consultation.

Officials said till date permission for export of more than 120,000 tonnes of sugar had already been issued by the government.