India is likely to export 600,000-700,000 metric tons of sugar in the season to the end of September despite the government allowing 1 million tons of exports, a member of the Indian Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) said on Thursday.
The world’s second-biggest sugar producer set the 1 million ton export allowance in January because the government and industry believed there was a surplus for overseas markets.
Since then, industry groups have lowered their output forecasts for the current year, raising concerns over potential supply shortages.
“We’ll probably export 600-700kt (thousand metric tons) by the end of September,” Kiran Wadhwana, ISMA member and Executive Director of International Trading Co, told the S&P Global sugar conference in Geneva.
Sugar is heavily regulated by India’s government. As well as setting the price for cane that mills must pay to growers, the government fixes the quantity mills can sell on the open market.