Sugar Exports Rank Third on Government’s Priority List
13-Aug-2025 06:15 PM
New Delhi. Although the production of this important industrial crop is expected to increase due to increase in sugarcane sowing area during the current year and favorable weather and rainfall conditions, due to which sugar production is expected to improve especially in Maharashtra and Karnataka, but the government has clarified that sugar export is third in its priority list.
The first priority of the government is to ensure adequate supply and availability of sugar in the domestic sector and to keep the market price stable within a certain limit so that the general consumers do not face any difficulty.
The second priority is to allocate adequate quota of sugar for ethanol production so that success can be achieved in achieving the high target of blending ethanol in petrol.
After this, if the industry has more surplus stock left, then permission for export of that sugar can be considered. It will also be kept in mind that at the end of the 2025-26 marketing season,
the industry must have enough stock of sugar so that the domestic requirement of the initial two and a half to three months of the 2026-27 season can be easily met.
Data from the Union Agriculture Ministry shows that the sugarcane production area at the national level has increased by 1.63 lakh hectares from 55.68 lakh hectares last year to 57.31 lakh hectares this time, which is much higher than the normal average area of 52.51 lakh hectares.
Although the sugarcane acreage in Uttar Pradesh is lagging behind last year, the area has increased rapidly in Maharashtra and Karnataka. In the 2024-25 season, there was a sharp decline in sugar production in both these states.
Sugar production was also reduced in Uttar Pradesh. This time domestic production is expected to increase by 18 percent.
The central government may consider allowing sugar mills and distilleries to use up to 40-50 lakh tonnes of sugar during the 2025-26 marketing season for ethanol production.
If this happens, there will be doubt about saving a special stock of sugar for export purposes. Anyway, due to the price of Indian sugar being higher than the international market price, its export is getting affected.
The government has allocated an export quota of 100 lakh tonnes of sugar for the marketing season 2024-25, but it is doubtful whether the entire quantity will be shipped. Millers are getting attractive prices for sugar within the country itself.