Sugar exports unlikely to be allowed till mid-September
09-Aug-2024 10:43 AM
New Delhi. Although the indigenous industry is continuously putting tremendous pressure on the government to allow commercial export of sugar, senior official sources say that no decision is likely to be taken in this regard before mid-September.
According to industry organizations, at the end of the current marketing season of 2023-24 i.e. on 30 September 2024, the millers will have an outstanding surplus stock of more than 85 lakh tonnes of sugar, while production is also expected to be better in the next season.
At the end of the season, the outstanding stock of 55-60 lakh tonnes of sugar in October is considered sufficient, so the government should approve the export of surplus stock.
Due to the presence of huge stock of sugar, the flow of working capital of the millers is getting hampered and the expenditure on its safe storage and maintenance is also increasing.
On the other hand, the amount of interest on the loan taken by the millers from banks and financial institutions is also increasing.
According to senior official sources, there is no concern about the availability of sugar and the area under sugarcane cultivation is also slightly ahead of last year,
but there is a need to keep a close watch on monsoon rainfall in September because if there is more than normal rainfall and water stagnation remains in sugarcane fields for a long time, then the crop may be affected.
The whole picture will be clear by mid-September and only after that any decision can be taken. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more than normal rainfall in September, due to which the government wants to exercise some caution.
The government has estimated the production of 333 lakh tonnes of sugar with narrow figures of 322 lakh tonnes, in which the amount of sugar used in ethanol production has not been considered.
The Union Agriculture Ministry is going to release the estimate of sugarcane production in the third week of September and the Food Ministry will wait till then.
According to ISMA, the area under sugarcane cultivation has decreased from 59.44 lakh hectares last year to 56.08 lakh hectares this time.