October turns sweeter for sugar

New varieties of high-yielding sugarcane have taken production to an all-time high for the month

In a major break with tradition, sugar factories in the country will be producing anything between 700,000 and 800,000 tonnes of the sweetener in October, the first month of the 2017-18 season for the commodity. Never in the past, had the industry produced even half this amount in October. The development comes as a big relief for the government. The availability of around 4 million tonnes (mt) as the season’s opening stocks and the stepped up supply of new sugar this month are proving sufficient to meet the festival demand. The country is likely to use 25.06 mt of sugar