More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Mar. 27, 2025

By J. Navya Sruthi

MUMBAI – Ex-mill prices of sugar in key markets of Uttar Pradesh rose slightly Thursday due to expectation of low supply, traders said. Market is waiting for the release of the sugar sales quota for next month for more cues, traders said.

Naresh Gupta, a sugar trader from north India, said prices are likely to rise by INR 40 per 100 kg from the current level. He said prices rose by INR 15 per 100 kg on Thursday in key markets of Uttar Pradesh due to anticipation of lower supply this season.

The Indian Sugar and Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association has pegged the net sugar output for the ongoing 2024-25 (Oct-Sept) season at 26.4 million tonnes, down 17.2% on year from 31.90 million tonnes. As of Saturday, India produced 23.8 million tonnes of sugar as of Saturday, accounting for 90.15% of the production estimate for 2024-25 (Oct-Sept), according to the data from the trade body.

Meanwhile, prices of the sweetener were steady in markets of Maharashtra due to lack of new cues, said Mukesh Kuvadia, secretary of the Bombay Sugar Merchants Association. Prices are likely to remain at current levels for the rest of the month, he said, adding that there will be movement in prices only after the sales quota for April is announced by the government.

The Centre is likely to set the sugar sales quota for April somewhere around 2.35 million tonnes to 2.40 million tonnes, up from 2.30 million tonnes in March, according to market participants. With strong demand anticipated in April, particularly from large-scale consumers such as ice cream and soft drink manufacturers as the summer season intensifies, the quota is expected to be higher than the previous months, they said.

Kuvadia said the quota is expected to be out by Thursday or Friday. However, this time the quota is unlikely to exceed 2.4 million tonnes, as the government doesn't have sufficient stock, according to Semal Sudhir Jain, secretary of Kolhapur, Karad, and Sangli Sugar Merchant Association.

Following are the highlights of sugar prices in the domestic market:

--Up by INR 15 at INR 3,905-INR 4,035 per 100 kg in western Uttar Pradesh

--Up by INR 15 at INR 3,905-INR 4,065 per 100 kg in central Uttar Pradesh

--Flat at INR 3,810-INR 3,870 per 100 kg in Kolhapur, Maharashtra

--Flat at INR 4,032-INR 4,122 per 100 kg in Mumbai, Maharashtra

At 1542 IST, sugar prices on the Intercontinental Exchange were down 0.83% at 19.19 cents per pound. Czarnikow, a supply chain solutions company for agricultural, energy, and packaging products, has projected Brazil's sugar production for 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) to climb to a record 43.6 million tonnes, and said producing sugar would be more profitable than producing ethanol. The possibility of higher availability of sugar weighed on global prices.  End

US$1 = INR 85.78

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000  

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.