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Informist, Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025

 

MUMBAI – The Centre is likely to increase the sugar sales quota for December to 2.00-2.15 million tonnes from the previous month, even though demand is expected to be weak and availability ample as the crushing season is ongoing in full swing. Demand from bulk buyers is likely to remain subdued, market participants told Informist. In November, the government had set a sales quota of 2.0 million tonnes, 16.7% lower than 2.4 million tonnes in October, despite which mills struggled to meet the quota as demand was weak throughout the month, said traders. The government is expected to announce the December sugar sales quota in the next two days.

 

In December, there are no major festivals, so there is less scope of bulk demand from confectioneries, traders said. Moreover, with temperature dropping during the peak winter month, demand from ice-cream and cold-drink manufacturers declines, said Naresh Gupta, a trader from north India. He expects the sugar sales quota for December to be 2.1 million tonnes as demand is weak amid the availability of alternatives such as khandsari and jaggery.

 

"Prices are likely to be range-bound despite the quota being 2.1 million tonnes as the crushing season is going on and mills will have ample sugar. Prices will only increase in case of a hike in the minimum selling price," Gupta said.

 

The quota for December will be between 2.10 million tonnes and 2.15 million tonnes, said Mukesh Kuvadia, secretary of the Bombay Sugar Merchants Association. "It will be sufficient to meet the demand for the month," he said.

 

G.K. Sood, the chairman of MEIR Commodities, said that the sales quota for December will be somewhere between 2.0 million tonnes and 2.1 million tonnes, and added that prices may fall by INR 100 per 100 kg by January. "However, prices will not fall anything beyond that as mills will also export and prices have to be on a par with international rates," he said. There is no scope of an uptrend in sugar prices as most mills across the country have started crushing and there will be ample sugar available, Sood added.

 

The government has allocated 1.5 million tonnes of sugar for export in 2025-26 (Oct–Sept) and distributed the quota among sugar mills, according to the Department of Food and Public Distribution. The government has allocated export quota on a pro-rata basis among operational mills, using their average sugar production in the last three sugar seasons.

 

Prices are expected to be sideways to lower after the release of the December sales quota, said Seemal Sidhir Jain, secretary of the Kolhapur Karad Sangli Sugar Merchants Association. "In Maharashtra, prices are seen at INR 3,700 per 100 kg during December, down by INR 50 per 100 kg from this month," Jain said.

 

He said that the quota for December will be around 2.10-2.15 million tonnes. "There is carryover from last month, hence, the quota is not more than that," Jain added.

 

The government fixes the maximum quantity of sugar available for sale every month to support prices and help mills clear the arrears of sugarcane farmers. The government has estimated gross sugar production for the sugar season 2025-26 (Oct–Sep) around 34 million tonnes. This is a conservative estimate based on the first round of discussions with states and may be revised slightly upwards once sugar crushing begins. The Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association, in its first advanced estimate, has pegged gross sugar output for the 2025–26 (Oct–Sept) season at 34.4 million tonnes. End

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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