Indian sugar mills export 5.11 million tonnes of sugar in seven-month period

Sugar mills across the country have exported 5.11 million tonnes of sugar from January 2021 up until August 5, according to the All-India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA). India has managed to contract around 6 million tonnes of sugar without export to Iran, which has the potential to buy 1.2 million tonnes.

“With the changed political scenario in the global markets, it shall be prudent to find some mechanism to export sugar to Iran. This shall help India to widen its market and create a premium for the Indian sugar,” AISTA added. As the current marketing year is coming to an end, there is an urgent need for a timely announcement of the sugar export policy for the next year, the industry body stated.

Of the total exports undertaken so far, maximum exports have been undertaken to Indonesia at 1.69 million tonnes so far this year, followed by Afghanistan at 6,23,967 tonnes and the UAE at 4,60,816 tonnes and Sri Lanka at 3,78,280 tonnes.

“We are proud to say that the value of the sugar exported or under the shipment process is over $2.5 billion or about Rs 18,600 crore, contributing to the country’s export earnings, particularly in a pandemic year and increasing the liquidity in the hands of sugar mills to pay cane price to farmers,” AISTA stated. The international market has gone up from 17.28 cents per pound on July 10 to 19.59 cents per pound on August 11, on account of weather problems in Brazil.

AISTA also requested the government to clear the pending subsidy claims and address the shortage of containers and rise in ocean freight. Many export subsidy claims of previous years have not yet been settled. These claims may kindly be settled and paid expeditiously as mills will require funds before the start of the season, it said. The substantial increase in ocean freight and non-availability of containers have eroded the margins of export houses and are also proving to be a major bottleneck in export operations.