Millers seek raw sugar imports to make up for likely cane shortage

“India could import a certain quantity of raw sugar to supplement cane crushing in the areas where climatic impact is likely to reduce crushable sugarcane,” said industry body National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF) said in a press release on Thursday.

There are concerns about production of sugarcane in Maharashtra and Karnataka, which is likely to affect availability of sugar for consumption and for ethanol production for blending with petrol in these states, it said.

India had last imported raw sugar in 2017, after which the country has been an exporter. In 2021-22, India was the second largest exporter of raw sugar in the world.

Sugarcane crushing for the 2023-24 (October-September) season will begin next month.

NFCSF pointed out that crushing capacity has increased in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat in recent years and a likely shortage of sugarcane will prevent sugar factories from operating at full capacity, impacting their economies of scale. “Raw sugar, if used along with sugarcane for crushing, will not only enable mills to attain economies of scale of operation, but will help increase net sugar production,” it said. At the same time, the industry body has brushed aside as “rumours” talks of a likely shortage of sugar production in 2023-24, saying most cane-growing states have received good rains.

“The situation is contrary,” it said. “While the El Nino has impacted the monsoon in some parts of Maharashtra, all other cane growing states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Uttarakhand, etc. have received above normal rains, which has definitely helped the growth stage of standing cane to gain weight and sucrose content,” NFCSF said.

Sugar prices in India have been gradually moving upwards since June as the monsoon’s performance was not optimal.

India is now also dependent upon sugarcane production for its energy security as 11% of petrol sold in the country has been replaced with ethanol as of June 2023.