India is likely to decide next month if it should allow sugar exports above the 6 million tonnes (mt) allowed till May 31, after assessing the domestic production scenario since the crushing of sugarcane is still continuing, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Thursday.
The Food Ministry has allocated a mill-wise export quota totalling 6 mt for the current 2022-23 season (October-September), which need to be shipped by May 31. India had exported record 11 mt of sugar in the previous season.
Mills have dispatched 3 mt of sugar for exports, out of which 1.8 mt have already been shipped out of the country while 0.5 mt are in the pipeline, Chopra said, adding that the entire allotted quota might be exported by May.
Output pegged at 340 lt
“We are open to revisiting the export quota. Depending on the domestic production and internal requirement, we will take a fresh call in the next month when we sit with sugarcane commissioners of states,” Chopra said. Pointing out divergent production estimates from different sugar associations for the current season he said a clear picture would emerge by the end of this month or early next month.
Production would not be lower than 340-345 lt, said Subodh Kumar Singh, Additional Secretary in Food Ministry. This means there is potential for some additional quantity to be exported, he said.
According to the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), mills have entered into contracts to export 5.5 mt so far, whereas production has reached 15.68 mt as on January 15 against 15.08 mt in year-ago period.
Indicating there is no need to raise the minimum selling price of sugar from the current $0,38/kg, the Food Secretary said the mills are earning good revenue from different streams including sweetener and ethanol.
20% ethanol blending
He expressed confidence that the target of 20 per cent blending would be met by sourcing ethanol from different feedstock including sugarcane and grain. Stating that over 1,000 crore litres of ethanol would be required to achieve the target of 20 per cent ethanol blending with petrol (EBP), around 50 per cent will come from sugarcane while the remaining half will come from grain-based plants.
He said there will be requirement of 16.5 mt of grains to meet the share of grain-based plants for the 20 per cent target and the government would focus on increasing the production of maize to shift from rice, which is predominantly getting used now.
Source: The Hindu Business lin
Please click to reach our Marketplace
The following reports may be of interest to you:
Related posts:
“Transparent” Solar Panels Will Contribute to the Development of Horticulture 
Indian Government to Allow 8 Million Tonne of Exports for 2022-23 Sugar Season 
Viktor Orban Announced That the Country Will Extend the Price Freeze 
Sugar: India 2 Largest Sugar Producer In The World 
India’s Sugar Exports Up to 10 Million Tons – Historic Achievement India is the world’s second-largest sugar producer after Brazil, Since 2010-11 
ASITA: India exported 3,068 million tonne sugar from October, 2021 to January, 2022 
Does Südzucker withdraw from sugar production? 
Indian sugar production: Rise or drop?