India set to maintain 1 MT sugar export quota amid comfortable supplies

By Pratik Parija

 

India plans to maintain its one-million-ton sugar export quota for the current season, according to a person familiar with the matter, easing worries about possible supply restrictions that lifted global prices last week. 

India will not bar outbound shipments as the world’s second-biggest producer will have enough stockpiles at the end of this season on Sept. 30, even after a drop in production, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the information is confidential. The country’s supplies are adequate to meet domestic demand for more than two months before crushing for next year’s crop begins, the person added. 

 

Some news reports last week had suggested that the country was mulling restricting overseas sales because of lower production estimates, pushing prices higher. 

 

Local consumption will be lower this year compared with the last season, when national elections boosted demand for beverages and sweets, said the person, adding that planting for the 2025-26 crop was progressing well in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

 

In January, India permitted mills to export as much as one million tons this season, easing restrictions that had curbed shipments for more than a year. The country has shipped much larger volumes in the past.

 

A spokesperson for India’s food and commerce ministries did not respond to a request for comment.

 

The factory-gate selling price of sugar for millers in top-growing regions Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra have been falling since the beginning of March, indicating supplies at home are more than enough to meet demand, according to the Indian Sugar & Bio-energy Manufacturers Association.