Informist, Tuesday, Nov 7, 2023
By Taniva Singha Roy
MUMBAI- Ex-mill prices of sugar in the key markets of Uttar Pradesh fell again, in line with the downtrend that began after arrivals of the new stock increased. Prices in Maharashtra remained unchanged due to parity between demand and supply, said traders.
Mills in Uttar Pradesh cut prices by 10-15 rupees per 100 kg today as demand has been hit. The fall in prices will continue for a few more days as festival demand has dropped and after Diwali, very little activity takes place in wholesale markets, said Naresh Gupta, a trader from north India.
In west Uttar Pradesh, mills are selling new sugar stocks as production has already started, while mills in central parts of the state are clearing off old stocks as sugarcane crushing is delayed in the region. "In central Uttar Pradesh the (sugar)cane is sown generally 10 to 15 days compared to the rest of the state, hence the crop arrives late for crushing," Gupta added.
In Maharashtra, prices remained steady again today, as demand and supply were balanced, and the trend is silely to continue for a few more days as the state has adequate supply of sugar, said Mukesh Kuvadia, the secretary of the Bombay Sugar Merchants Association.
Prices will more or less remain the same as Diwali demand has been met and is not likely to pick up, he said.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution in a notification on Thursday said it had allowed the export of 25,000 tn of sugar each to Nepal and Bhutan. This was after the Directorate General of Foreign Trade extended restrictions on export of sugar from the country beyond Oct 31, until further notice.
The government has released some quantities to be exported to the neighbouring countries as they are vastly dependent on India for sugar. Consumers in Nepal have been facing serious sugar shortages during festival seasons due to the export ban.
According to a report by the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Development Authority's Agri Exchange division, Nepal has been facing sugar shortages due to India's export restrictions. The allotted export quota by India is expected to meet demand in Nepal for three to four months, according to the report.
However, the exports will have negligible impact on domestic prices as the amount being exported is just about 1% of the total stock, said Naresh Gupta.
Sugar is a highly regulated commodity in the country and the government comes up with various methods to monitor domestic prices.
The following are highlights of the sugar trade in the domestic market today:
-Flat at 3,876-3,990 rupees per 100 kg in Mumbai
-Flat at 3,730-3,805 rupees per 100 kg in Kolhapur
-Down by 10 to 15 rupees at 3,800-3,950 rupees per 100 kg in Muzaffarnagar
-Down by 10 to 15 rupees at 3,850-3,975 rupees per 100 kg in Kanpur
On the Intercontinental Exchange, the March sugar contract was at 28.08 cents a pound, up 0.5% from the previous close.
Congestion in Brazil's ports is limiting sugar exports from the country and shipments fell 10% on-month in October, according to a report from Green Pool Commodity Specialists. Further, on Oct 23, the International Sugar Organisation had forecast that global sugar production in 2023-24 (Oct-Sep) would fall 1.2% to 174.8 mln tn, and a global sugar deficit of 2.1 mln tn was likely in 2023-24, according to barchart.com.
Expectations of tighter global sugar supplies are supportive for prices. End
US$1 = 83.26 rupees
Edited by Avishek Dutta
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