India may miss sugar export target this year

India has only shipped 3.4 million tonnes so far out of the 5 million tones target that it had set for exporting sugar this season, which ends on September 30. In order to tackle the supply glut in the global market, the Indian government has offered a flurry of incentives this year, even inviting the ire of other exporting countries at the WTO. For instance, it had given transport subsidies of between ₹1,000-3,000 a tonne to sugar mills depending on the distance to ports.

However, there are some industry insiders who are optimistic about the government taking its sugar exports higher. “In the current season, there is net global surplus of 2 million tonnes. So, the prices are weak and we are not able to export the targeted 5 million tonnes. But in the next season, there is likely to be a gap of 4 million tonnes between demand and supply, making exports lucrative,” opined Abinash Verma, Director General, ISMA.