Weather woes to crush India's sugar production, export hopes

E I D-Parry (India)

23/12/2024 10:40

By Rajendra Jadhav
       MUMBAI, Dec 23 (Reuters) - Sugarcane yields in India are
declining due to last year's drought and this year's excessive
rains, which could reduce the country's sugar production below
consumption levels for the first time in eight years, farmers
and industry officials said on Monday.
    Lower-than-expected output by the world's second-largest
sugar producer could eliminate the possibility of India allowing
exports in the current season ending in September 2025,
supporting global sugar prices  SBc1   LSUc1 .
    Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh account for more
than 80% of the country's total sugar production, with lower
cane yields in these states prompting trade houses to reduce
their output estimates for the 2024/25 season.
    The production could fall to around 27 million metric tons
from the last year's 32 million tons and below annual
consumption of more than 29 million tons, said India head of a
global trade house, who declined to be named.

    
    "During the summer months, the cane crop faced prolonged
stress due to the lack of water," B.B. Thombare, president of
the West Indian Sugar Mills Association told Reuters.
    "When the monsoon season began, there was excessive rainfall
and limited sunshine, which also adversely affected the crop's
growth."
    The adverse weather curtailed cane yields by 10 to 15 tons
per hectare, Thombare said.
    The western state of Maharashtra and neighbouring Karnataka,
which together produce nearly half of India's sugar, received
lower-than-average rainfall in 2023, bringing down reservoir
levels.
    "Usually, we harvest 120 to 130 tons of cane from one
hectare of land, but this year yields have fallen to 80 tons
despite all our efforts," says Shrikant Ingle, who cultivated
cane on five acres of land in Maharashtra's Solapur. 
    Drought did not affect the crop in Uttar Pradesh, the
country's leading sugar-producing state in the north.
    However, plantations in the state were impacted by red rot
disease, which reduced sugarcane yields, said a senior state
government official.
    "To control the spread of the disease, we are advising
farmers to adopt new cane varieties," the official said.        
    
    The downward revision in the production estimate has
eliminated the possibility of any exports in the current season,
the head of the trade house said.
    Sugar industry seeks 2 million tons of exports, while the
government says it may allow limited exports, if any surplus
remains after ethanol needs are met.

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
India to extend sugar exports ban    https://reut.rs/3AQjNNn
India's sugar output set to fall below consumption    https://tmsnrt.rs/3Rb7xf5
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
 ((rajendra.jadhav@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
x.com/Rajendra1857))