India's sugar exports grow by 291% since FY14: Govt

Sugar exports rise by 65% during FY22 alone, says Ministry of Commerce & Industry

India's sugar exports witnessed an astounding growth of 291% from $1,177 million in FY14 to $4,600 million in FY22, said the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Monday. As per  Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) data, India exported sugar to 121 countries across the globe.

Sugar export jumped 65% in 2021-22 corresponding to previous year. The growth was achieved despite logistical challenges posed by COVID19 pandemic in the form of high freight rates, container shortages, etc, the ministry said.

Highlighting the historic achievement in a tweet, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said that Modi government’s policies were helping farmers increase their income by tapping global markets.

According to the DGCI&S data, India had exported sugar worth of $1,965 million in FY20, which rose to $2,790 million in FY21 and $4,600 million in FY22.  

In 2021-22 (April-February), India has exported sugar worth of $769 million to Indonesia, followed by Bangladesh ($561 million), Sudan ($530 million) and U.A.E ($270 million). India also exported sugar to Somalia, Saudi Arab, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Nepal, China, etc. Indian sweetener has also been imported by USA, Singapore, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Germany, France, New Zealand, Denmark, Israel, Russia, Egypt, etc.

Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka account for nearly 80 per cent of the total sugar production in the country. The other major sugarcane-producing states are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Haryana, and Punjab.

"Notably, India is the world’s second-largest sugar producer after Brazil. Since 2010-11, India has consistently produced surplus sugar, comfortably exceeding the domestic requirements. The record exports would enable the sugar producers to reduce their stocks and would also benefit the sugarcane farmers, as the increased demand for Indian sugar is likely to improve their realizations. The significant rise in agri-exports is also seen as a testimony of the government’s commitment to increase farmers’ income by boosting exports of agricultural and processed food products of the country," the ministry said.

In order to ensure seamless quality certification of products to be exported, APEDA has recognized 220 labs across India to provide services of testing to a wide range of products and exporters.

APEDA organizes participation of exporters in the International Trade Fairs, which provides a platform to the exporters to market their food products in the global marketplace. APEDA also organizes national events like AAHAR, Organic World Congress, BioFach India etc. to promote agri-exports.

In 2019, APEDA led a delegation of exporters to Indonesia to organised road shows and had meetings with relevant authorities. Thereafter, export to Indonesia picked up and today they are the highest importer of sugar from India.

Even after record exports, the closing stocks at the end of sugar season 2021-22 (October – September) would be at a comfortable level of 73 lakh tons