Sugar output may be higher than 32.5 MT
The country’s sugar production in the current season — 2023-24 — is likely to be higher than the 32.5 million tonne (MT) projected last month owing to favourable weather conditions in the key growing states, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said on Tuesday.
ISMA said the recent weather conditions have been favourable for the standing cane crop, and cane commissioners of major states like Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka have done an upward revision of around 5-10% in their sugar production estimates for the 2023-24 season .
“We also believe that sugar production in the current year could be higher than what was expected earlier,” according to a statement by ISMA. The association will bring out a second advance estimate of sugar production by the end of the month.
Last month, ISMA had projected the country’s sugar production in the 2023-24 season to be at 32.5 MT and domestic consumption around 28.5 MT. The sugar output for the 2022-23 season was at 36.61 MT, which excludes diversion towards ethanol production.
The association has said “the next year crop outlook also appears better than what was thought a month ago”. Meanwhile, ISMA said the sugar production till January 15, 2024 in the current season (October-September) was 14.95 MT, a 5% decline on year. This excludes sugar diverted for ethanol production.
There are 520 factories currently operating against 515 mills a year ago. Because of the higher output projection, ISMA has urged the government to allow additional 1-1.2 MT sugar for ethanol production. “Even after allowing additional sugar for production of ethanol, closing sugar balance shall be sufficient to cater a couple of months into the next season,” the statement said.
Last month, the government decided to allocate 1.7 MT of sugar for ethanol production in the current season against 3.8 MT used for biofuel production in the previous season from both sugarcane juice and molasses.
Earlier, the food ministry had directed all sugar mills and distilleries to stop using sugarcane juice for production of ethanol in order to ensure adequate supply of sweetener for domestic consumption.
Food ministry officials said they are reviewing sugar production periodically to explore the possibility of allocating additional volume of sugar for ethanol production. In 2022-23 season, the country has achieved 12% ethanol blending in petrol, producing 5 billion litres of ethanol.
The food ministry has projected domestic sugar consumption at around 27.5 MT for the current season. The government had earlier extended restrictions on sugar exports beyond October 31, 2023. India exported 6 MT of sugar in the last sugar season (October-September 2022-23), and a record 11 MT in the year before.
Source Link: https://www.financialexpress.com/market/commodities-sugar-output-may-be-higher-than-32-5-mt-3373220/
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