India unlikely to export sugar in 2023/24 season

India will likely not export sugar in the 2023-24 season as production will be lower than the previous year, Kona Khaki, head of research at ED&F Man Commodities, said on Thursday, Nasdaq reported.

Khaki's comments come a month after government sources told Reuters India was likely to ban mills from exporting sugar in the next season starting in October, suspending shipments for the first time in seven years due to poor rainfall that has reduced the cane harvest. .

India's absence from the global market is likely to push up benchmark prices in New York and London, which are already trading near multi-year highs, raising fears of further rising inflation in global food markets.

"India's sugar production next season will be less than last year. And India will probably not export next year," she said on the sidelines of a conference in New Delhi.

India has allowed mills to export only 6.1 million tonnes of sugar in the current season until September 30, almost half the record 11.1 million tonnes sold last season.

The country is likely to receive average rainfall in September after its driest August in more than a century. While rainfall in September will help the sugarcane crop, the yield will be less due to less rainfall in August.

Irregular rains will reduce sugar production in the 2023/24 season and even reduce plantings for the 2024/25 season, an industry official who asked not to be named said last month.

Khaki also expressed "concerns" about sugar production in India in the 2024-25 season.