At 32 MT, India's sugar output may remain below prior forecast for 2018-19

India's sugar output in the current 2018/19 season is expected to be lower than earlier expectations and could drop further if more sugar gets diverted for ethanol production, a leading trade body said on Monday.

The sugar output is now seen at 32 million tonnes for the season that began on Oct. 1, down from its previous forecast of 35-35.5 million tonnes, the Indian Sugar Mills Association said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that an infestation of white grubs in Maharashtra, India's second-biggest sugar producing state, and neighbouring Karnataka state, the third-largest producer, could mean sugar output for the 2018/19 crop year will be 9 percent lower than earlier estimates.