Sugar Supplies

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration extended the ban on sugar exports for the second straight season, as India, also the world's biggest consumer of the sweetener

Drought and plant disease have delayed Brazil's sugar harvest, tightening supplies and keeping prices high, despite China's larger crop and easing global demand

The government on Monday ruled out possibility of allowing sugar exports in the current 2023-24 season ending October, the industry's persistent demand notwithstanding. Currently, there are curbs on export of sugar for an indefinite period. However, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has requested the government to allow export of 10 lakh tonne of sugar in the 2023-24 season, anticipating healthy closing stock by the season-end. "As of now, the government is not considering sugar exports although the industry has demanded," a senior food ministry official told PTI. The country's sugar production crossed 30 million tonne till March of the ongoing 2023-24 season. ISMA has revised net sugar production estimate for 2023-24 season to 32 million tonne. The government has estimated sugar output at 31.5-32 million tonne. Meanwhile, the government is considering allowing sugar mills to use excess stock of B-heavy molasses for ethanol production this year.

Households have reduced spending on the food item for two decades now, but its production keeps increasing

Is this the end of small retail loans? Will govt's ethanol move fix the sugar supply? How does Tata AMC CIO see markets playing out in 2024? What is Google's Gemini? All answers here

The government has given a final call to all legal entities engaged in sugar trade to declare their stocks on a food ministry website by October 17, and warned that strict action will be taken against those for violation. On September 23, the Food Ministry had issued an order directing all sugar stakeholders -- wholesalers, retailers, big chain retailers and processors -- to weekly update their stock position on its website. The Ministry, however, observed that many of the legal entities dealing with sugar trade/storage have "still not registered" themselves on the sugar stock management system. "Various instances have been reported to the Directorate of Sugar and Vegetable Oils, where many of these legal entities are having possession of a substantial quantity of unreported sugar stocks," the ministry said in a letter written to all stakeholders. There are cases where these entities are not updating their sugar stock on a regular basis, it said, adding this not only violates the .

Sugar has a combined weight of 1.13 per cent in the consumer price index (CPI). This is lower than rice, wheat and refined edible oils

Rainfall across the nation may be as much as 10% below average this monsoon season, and the onset of the El Niño weather pattern could lower precipitation even further over the next two years

The apex sugar body has urged the govt to not experiment with a new export system

India has exported 75 lakh tonnes of sugar till May 18 in the current marketing year ending September, the Food Ministry said on Thursday. Sugar marketing year runs from October to September. "Export of sugar in current sugar season 2021-22 is 15 times of export as compared to export in sugar season 2017-18," the ministry said in a statement. The major importing countries are Indonesia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE, Malaysia and African countries. In 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 marketing years, about 6.2 lakh tonnes, 38 lakh tonnes and 59.60 lakh tonnes of sugar were exported, respectively. In 2020-21, about 70 lakh tonnes of sugar have been exported. "About Rs 14,456 crore (have been) released to sugar mills in past 5 years to facilitate export of sugar and Rs 2,000 crore as carrying cost for maintaining buffer stock," the statement said. Millers have contracted for export of about 90 lakh tonnes of sugar in 2021-22. Out of which, 75 lakh tonnes have been exported till

For the 2019-20 sugar season, government had fixed a target of producing 2.60 billion litres of ethanol.

Sugar Supplies are booming thanks to the outlook for record harvests in India and Thailand, the world's No. 2 exporter