India to ban sugar exports amid reports of decline in production: Report

The Indian government is planning to ban sugar exports due to a decline in output and to prevent inflationary pressures before the Lok Sabha elections next year, as per reports.

According to reports, a group of ministers has advised that mills cease sending sugar overseas with "immediate effect".

The committee, including the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and the Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, is believed to have discussed the issue in a meeting on April 27. According to the source, the government will shortly announce a restriction on shipments.

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Reports citing a government source said there is now enough sugar to satisfy the expected 275 lakh tonnes of domestic consumption demand. But, before the state elections this year and the Lok Sabha elections the following year, the government does not want to take any chances.

According to statistics from the Department of Consumer Affairs, sugar's average retail price throughout all of India on Friday was Rs 42.24 per kg, which was somewhat higher than the level from a year earlier when it was Rs 41.31. The country is expected to produce 327 lakh tonnes (LT) of sugar during the 2022–23 crop year (October–September), down from the 359 lakh tonnes produced during the previous crop year.

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Maximum 6.31 lakh tonnes of sugar have been sold from India to Bangladesh in the current year, according to statistics on sugar exports up till April 8, 2023. Djibouti, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, China, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Afghanistan, Cameroon, and Jordan are a few more important importers.

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According to official data, even though the majority of the sugar has already been shipped in accordance with the fixed quota established for the current year, nearly two lakh tonnes of sugar have not yet been sent for export.

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