Sugar mills float various options to beat a challenging 2023-24 season

After many years, the Indian sugar sector is poised for multiple challenges in the new season, starting from October 1, primarily due to lower-than-expected production and rising demand from ethanol makers and domestic consumers.

The production in the 2023-24 sugar season, according to the current emerging consensus, is expected to be somewhere around 30-31 million tonnes after accounting for 4.5 million tonnes diverted towards ethanol, down from around 33 million tonnes in 2022-23.

However, this sugar production is good enough to meet the existing annual demand after the addition of an opening balance estimated to be around 28 million tonnes.