India lowers sugar sale limit for June by 50,000 tonn
The government has set a limit of 23.5 lakh tonne for sugar sales by mills in June, 50,000 tonne less than the May quota, a notification by the Food and Public Distribution Department stated.
The sales quota for Maharashtra for June has been lowered by 8,283 tonne to 7.4 lakh tonne from the previous month, while for Uttar Pradesh, the quota has been raised by 10,994 tonne to 8.72 lakh tonne. The quota for Karnataka has been lowered by 30,774 tonne to 3.46 lakh tonne from the previous month.
For the past three years, the government has been fixing the maximum quantity of sugar available for sale on a monthly-basis to support prices and help mills clear sugarcane arrears.
The following table details state-wise allocation of sugar sales limit for June, compared to a month ago.
| States | June(in tonnes) | May(in tonnes) |
| Andhra Pradesh | 23,518 | 29,581 |
| Bihar | 60,179 | 52,514 |
| Chhattisgarh | 5,765 | 3,197 |
| Gujarat | 75,503 | 76,724 |
| Haryana | 52,082 | 55,071 |
| Karnataka | 3,46,086 | 3,76,860 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 33,453 | 48,318 |
| Maharashtra | 7,34,775 | 7,43,058 |
| Odisha | 2,812 | 239 |
| Punjab | 26,040 | 38,764 |
| Rajasthan | 481 | 836 |
| Tamil Nadu | 75,396 | 69,385 |
| Telangana | 8,785 | 9,965 |
| Uttar Pradesh | 8,72,100 | 8,61,106 |
| Uttarakhand | 33,025 | 34,203 |
| Total | 23,50,000 | 24,00,000 |
Globally, sugar prices on Tuesday gave up early gains and closed slightly lower. A fall of more than 4 percent in crude prices to a two-week low sparked long liquidation in sugar futures. Weaker crude prices undercut ethanol prices and may prompt sugar mills to divert more cane crushing towards sugar than ethanol, thus boosting sugar supplies.
Also, increased Brazil sugar production is bearish for prices after Unica last week reported Brazil’s 2023-24 sugar production through mid-May was up 48 percent year-on-year.
Last month, sugar prices had jumped to 11-year high on the outlook for tighter global supplies. On April 26, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) cut its 2022-23 sugar production estimate to 328 lakh tonne (32.8 million tonne) from the January estimate of 340 lakh tonne (34 million tonne). India’s Food Secretary said India might not allow additional sugar exports this year due to lower-than-expected sugar production. India has allowed 60 lakh tonne (6 million tonne) of sugar exports for 2022-23 after permitting 112 lakh tonne (11.2 million tonne) in 2021-22.
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