Sugar Surplus

Households have reduced spending on the food item for two decades now, but its production keeps increasing

India has exported 75 lakh tonnes of sugar till May 18 in the current marketing year ending September, the Food Ministry said on Thursday. Sugar marketing year runs from October to September. "Export of sugar in current sugar season 2021-22 is 15 times of export as compared to export in sugar season 2017-18," the ministry said in a statement. The major importing countries are Indonesia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE, Malaysia and African countries. In 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 marketing years, about 6.2 lakh tonnes, 38 lakh tonnes and 59.60 lakh tonnes of sugar were exported, respectively. In 2020-21, about 70 lakh tonnes of sugar have been exported. "About Rs 14,456 crore (have been) released to sugar mills in past 5 years to facilitate export of sugar and Rs 2,000 crore as carrying cost for maintaining buffer stock," the statement said. Millers have contracted for export of about 90 lakh tonnes of sugar in 2021-22. Out of which, 75 lakh tonnes have been exported till

This is because the Indian industry contending with brimming inventories has been given a mandate by the government to sell 6 mt in the world market

This will benefit millions of farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka as well as other states

The higher-than-expected surplus could pressure local prices even lower even after they fell last week to their lowest since December 2015