How the Indian sugar industry is creating a not-so-sweet trap for itself

Industry staring at a record surplus by next year

The Indian sugar industry, second largest in the world, is creating a not-so-sweet trap for itself. Early this year, millers were keen to export tonnes of sugar to correct the high surplus situation and improve the depressed domestic prices.

Indian millers produced a record 32 million tonnes of sugar in the 2017/18 (October-September) season against an estimated domestic demand of 25 million tonnes. The season began with a surplus of about four million tonnes from the previous season. Another seven million tonnes of the surplus was added to the system. The fortunes of the industry took a beating and price