Sugar exports at record 7.1 million tonnes in 2020-21: ISMA

Sugar exports increased by 20% to an all-time high of 7.1 million tonne in the 2020-21 marketing year that ended last month on the back of better demand and financial assistance from the government, sugar industry body ISMA said on Friday. Exports of sugar in the 2019-20 marketing year (October-September) stood at 5.9 million tonne. ISMA said sugar production is estimated to remain at 31 million tonne in the 2021-22 marketing year, starting October 1, 2021.

It said that total availability of sugar is estimated to touch 39.5 million tonne, including an opening stock of 8.5 million tonne of sweetener.

While exports are estimated at 6 million tonnes, the domestic consumption is projected at 26.5 million tonne, it said, and also added that at the end of the current marketing year, closing stock would be 7 million tonne.

It also pointed out that India witnessed cyclical sugar production till 2009-10 but the country has now become structural surplus sugar producer in the last 10 years.

Ethanol’s annual production capacity is expected to touch 14 billion litres by 2025 from 3.5 billion litres of the 2018 annual capacity. The target is to divert 6 million tonne of surplus sugar to ethanol by 2025, it added.

Free pricing

On the subject of ethanol blending with petrol, the blending level is expected to touch 8.5% in 2020-21 ethanol marketing year ending November with supply of 3.25 billion litre to oil marketing companies (OMCs) In the next 2021-22 ethanol marketing year, the blending level is estimated to reach 10 per cent with supply of 4.25 billion litre to OMCs.

In order to overcome the challenge of high costs of cane and sugar, ISMA stressed on rationalising the sugarcane pricing policy in India.

It added that the cane prices should not be fixed by the government and instead link cane price to revenue realised from sugar and by-products