The government will soon announce the sugar export quota for the marketing year that started on October 1, which would be substantially lower than the 2021-22 level, sources said.
The food ministry had initially capped sugar exports at 10 million tonnes for the 2021-22 marketing year to keep domestic supplies steady. However, it later decided to allow exports up to 11.2 million tonnes, after a review of the domestic supply and demand from the sugar industry.
“Discussions are going on with stakeholders on this issue. The export quota for 2022-23 will be declared soon, after a thorough review of production data, based on inputs from cane-producing states, and demand, and surplus quantity,” an official source told FE.
According to an earlier estimate by the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), the country’s net sugar production, after factoring in diversion of cane juice for making ethanol, would be to the tune of 35.5 million tonnes. It had estimated consumption to be about 27.5 million tonnes. This leaves the scope for an export of eight million tonnes, without upsetting carryover domestic stocks of about six million tonnes.
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However, the industry body has now revised up its production estimate by one million tonnes to 36.5 million for 2022-23. If the government accepts the revised estimate, it will have the leeway to allow exports up to nine million tonnes this year.
The government has in recent months resorted to export curbs to keep a lid on prices of essential commodities like rice, wheat and sugar.
India had shipped out only 0.62 million tonnes of sugar in 2017-18, 3.8 million tonnes in 2018-19 and 5.96 million tonnes in 2019-20. In 2020-21, against the target of six million tonnes, about seven million tonnes of sugar was exported.