Sugar exports are expected to increase in the current 2021-2022 marketing year
New Delhi:
Sugar exports are estimated to increase to more than 90 lakh tons in the current marketing year ending in September, from 71-72 lakh tons in the previous year, due to better demand for the Indian sweetener from Bangladesh and Indonesia, according to industry association Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA).
The sugar sales season runs from October to September.
“According to market reports and port information, about 80 lakh tons of sugar exports have been contracted to date. Of these, about 57.17 lakh tons of sugar have been physically exported out of the country in the period October 2021-March 2022, compared to up to about 31.85 lakh tons exported in the last sugar year in the same period,” ISMA said in a statement.
About 7-8 lakh tons of sugar is expected to be exported in April 2022.
Indonesia and Bangladesh are the top export destinations in the current year, accounting for almost 44 percent of total exports, compared to 48 percent combined by Indonesia and Afghanistan in the same period last year.
ISMA said it has revised its production estimate to 350 lakh tons for the 2021-2022 marketing year. It has also revised its export estimates to over 90 lakh tons.
“Considering the above and the domestic consumption of 272 lakh tons, there will be a final balance of 68 lakh tons at the end of the sugar season on September 30, 2022,” it added.
Recently, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey had said India’s sugar exports are expected to exceed 80 lakh metric tons in the current 2021-22 marketing year ending in September, surpassing the previous year’s level. During the 2020-21 marketing year, the country exported a record 72.3 lakh tons of sweetener.
On the production side, ISMA said that until April 15, factories have produced 329.91 lakh tons of sugar in the current 2021-2022 marketing year, up from 291.82 lakh tons in the year-ago period.
