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Informist, Tuesday, May 20, 2025

 

--Govt official: See 2024-25 sugar closing stock comfortable at 5 mln tn 

--Govt official: 2024-25 sugar closing stock sufficient for 2 mos consumption 

--Govt official: Outlook positive for 2025-26 sugar season output 

--Govt official: Decision on sugar exports timely, helped industry

 

By Afra Abubacker

 

 

NEW DELHI – India is expected to have a sufficient sugar closing stock of 5.0 million tonnes in 2024-25 sugar season ending September, a senior government official said. This is sufficient for two-month consumption needs of 4.5-4.6 million tonnes till the next crushing operations gather pace in November, he added.

 

In 2023-24, the closing stock was way higher around 8.0 million tonnes. Sugar had piled up on the back of restrictions on exports and sucrose diversion for ethanol production. However, according to industry consensus, sugar ending stocks are sufficient only at 6 million tonne levels. 

 

"Two months consumption is around 45-46 LMT (4.5-4.6 million tonnes) only...If I have sufficient stock with me for two months, then what is the problem," the official said. He said average monthly consumption is only 2.3 million tonnes. 

 

On the upcoming sugar season, the official said that the government is optimistic of sugar output in 2025-26. "Next year is having positive outlook. We know that next year we will have more production and crushing season will start timely."

 

Amid lower estimate for sugar production in 2024-25 (Oct-Sep) and early closure of mills, there were concern about sugar availablity in the country. Industry associations have pegged sugar output at 25.9 million tonnes-26.4 million tonnes in 2024-25. Last year, India produed 31.09 million tonnes sugar.

 

Even when industry reduced their estimates of sugar output, the government did not panic and reimposed ban on sugar exports, the official said. India opened sugar exports in January after it had banned it in 2022. The government has allowed mills to ship 1.0 million tonnes sugar by September end. 

 

"Our timing (on exports) was best and that helped the industry, their liquidity, their finance, their cash flow and they were able to pay farmers more than 90% of their cane payments," the official said.

 

Against the 1 million tonne quota, mills have dispatched 470,094 tonnes of sugar to ports during Feb-Apr in 2024-25. According to trade estimates, mills are likely to export 800,000 tonnes in 2024-25 season. India is the second-largest sugar producer, after Brazil. In 2021-22, India exported a record 11 million tonnes of sugar, worth INR 400 billion. End

 

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

 

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