NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is likely to start the 2016/17 marketing year with 6.7 million tonnes of sugar, down 26.4 percent from the current year, as rising exports will help the world's second biggest producer to bring down the inventory, the chief of a leading trade body said on Wednesday.
Higher Indian exports would put pressure on global prices, but harden local prices and help mills in paying farmers state-fixed support price for sugar cane.
"The main markets for Indian sugar are Sri Lanka, Middle East and African countries. We can certainly exports 1.0 to 1.2 million tonnes of white sugar," said A Vellayan, president of the Indian Sugar Mills Association.
"We can also export up to 2 million tonnes of raw sugar."
India started the 2015/16 marketing year on Oct. 1 with 9.1 million tonnes carry-forward stocks.
(Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)