Indian Oct-May sugar output up 13%, says trade body

Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar

01/06/2021 10:39

MUMBAI, June 1 (Reuters) - Indian sugar mills' output rose
by 13% year on year to 30.57 million tonnes in the first eight
months of the 2020/21 marketing year, helped by an output jump
in the western state of Maharashtra, a trade body said on
Tuesday.
    The country is the world's second-biggest sugar producer and
the higher output could weigh on global prices  SBc1   LSUc1 .
    By the end of May, almost all sugar mills closed operations
after crushing their available cane, the Indian Sugar Mills
Association (ISMA) said in a statement.
    Maharashtra, India's second-biggest sugar-producing state,
churned out 10.63 million tonnes of sugar in the first eight
months of the season that started on Oct.1, compared with 6.2
million tonnes a year earlier, ISMA said.
    Exports have gained momentum and mills have signed contracts
to export 5.8 million tonnes of sugar so far in the current
marketing year, the trade body said.
    A few sugar mills are also exporting sugar without the
support of government subsidies because they need funds to make
cane payments to farmers, which became difficult after
coronavirus lockdowns curbed local demand, the ISMA said.

 (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav
Editing by David Goodman)
 ((rajendra.jadhav@thomsonreuters.com; +91-22-68414378 ; Reuters
Messaging: rajendra.jadhav.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))