Sugar Consumption May Decline: ISMA

20-May-2025 09:32 AM

Sugar Consumption May Decline: ISMA
★ According to the Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA), sugar consumption in the ongoing 2024-25 season may decline to around 280 lakh tonnes, compared to a record 290 lakh tonnes last season.
★ Demand during the peak summer months of April and May remained lower than expected. The sugar sales quota released by the government this year is also lower compared to the previous year.
★ For May 2025, the government set the monthly sugar sales quota at 23.50 lakh tonnes — 13% lower than 27 lakh tonnes in May 2024. From October to May, the cumulative quota stood at 184.50 lakh tonnes, 6% lower than the 196.50 lakh tonnes allocated in the same period last year.
★ In 2023-24, the government had released a total quota of 291.5 lakh tonnes, with mills achieving actual sales of 290 lakh tonnes. Sugar consumption hit record levels last season, partly due to general elections, which drove higher demand during the hot months.
★ Over the past decade, sugar consumption in India has grown at an average annual rate of 1.8%, rising from 247.97 lakh tonnes in 2015-16 to 290 lakh tonnes last season.
★ This season, sugar production has been scaled back across most factories. Export doors were opened, and domestic monthly quotas were reduced as part of the government’s supply management strategy.
★ With rising temperatures, industrial demand may pick up, and sugar prices are expected to remain firm in the near term.