Government extends curbs on sugar exports till October 31, 2023

The government has extended restrictions on sugar exports till October 31 next year, a move aimed at increasing availability of the commodity in the domestic market.

Earlier, the restrictions were imposed till October 31 this year.

"Restriction on export of sugar (raw, refined, and white sugar) is extended beyond October 31, 2022 till October 31, 2023, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. Other conditions will remain unchanged," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a notification dated October 28.

However, it said these restrictions will not be applicable on sugar being exported to the EU and the US under CXL and TRQ duty concession quotas. A specified amount of sugar is exported to these regions under CXL and TRQ (tariff rate quota).

India has been the highest producer and the second largest exporter of sugar in the world in the current year.

An exporter would require a licence or permission from the government to export sugar, which is under the restricted category.

The country's sugar production is projected to be 36.5 million tonnes in the 2022-23 marketing season, an increase of 2 per cent compared to the year-ago period, industry body ISMA has said.

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The production in India stood at 35.8 million tonnes during the 2021-22 marketing season. The season is from October-September.

With an estimated increase in production despite higher diversion for ethanol, ISMA expects export to be around 9 million tonnes this season.

Releasing the first estimate, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said "after accounting for the reduction of 45 lakh tonnes in sugar production due to diversion of cane juice/ syrup and B-molasses to ethanol, ISMA estimates sugar production in 2022-23 at around 36.5 million tonnes of sugar."

On exports, the industry body has said that the window for exports appears to be quite short for Indian sugar this year as Brazilian sugar will hit the global market by May 2023.

Further, most mills have already contracted sugar for export supplies in the current season. So, an early announcement of sugar export policy by the government should be highly appreciated, it added.

Sugarcane crushing has started in the southern region and is expected to start soon in other regions. Therefore, a better picture would emerge after a few months when actual trend of yields and sugar recoveries would become available.

As has been the practice, ISMA will again review the sugarcane and sugar production estimates in January 2023.

The government has been continuously monitoring the situation in the sugar sector, including production, consumption, export as well as price trends in wholesale and retail markets all over the country.