Informist, Tuesday, Jun 13, 2023

By Afra Abubacker

MUMBAI – Ex-mill prices of sugar were little changed today in key markets of north India and Maharashtra, dealers said. 

On Monday, mills in western Uttar Pradesh had raised prices of the sweetener by 15–20 rupees, said Naresh Gupta, an Uttar Pradesh-based dealer.

Prices remained flat in Maharashtra as the market lacked fresh triggers, said Mukesh Kuvadia, a Mumbai-based dealer. 

The market will monitor the progress of the southwest monsoon in India as sugarcane is a water-intensive crop. It has so far covered all of Kerala and Tamil Nadu and parts of western and eastern India, according to the India Meteorological Department.

India received 2.4 mm rainfall today, 56% below the normal weighted average of 5.4 mm. Cyclone Biparjoy had delayed the onset of the southwest monsoon over Kerala's coast to Jun 8, seven days behind the usual date of Jun 1.

However, at a conference today, Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, the director general of India Meteorology Department, said the cyclone is unlikely to have a major impact on the further advance of monsoon over the country. 

Following are the highlights of the sugar trade in the domestic market today:

--Flat at 3,575-3,670 rupees per 100 kg in Muzaffarnagar

--Flat at 3,562-3,752 rupees per 100 kg in Mumbai

--Flat at 3,530-3,680 rupees per 100 kg in Kolhapur

At 1646 IST, the July futures contract of sugar on the Intercontinental Exchange were down 0.4% at 25.36 cents per pound.

The ongoing sugar harvest in Brazil weighed on sugar prices. According to Brazil's sugarcane industry association UNICA, sugar production as of May 16 rose to 4.06 mln tn, against 2.74 mln tn last year. Brazil is the top producer of the sweetener. 

The US Department of Agriculture has also raised its estimate on global sugar production in its bi-annual report released on May 25. The USDA expects global sugar production to rise by 6.0% on year to 187.9 mln tn in 2023-24 as higher production in Brazil and India is likely to offset a decline in Russia.  End

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

Edited by Deepshikha Bhardwaj

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