The government has approved the export of 1 million tonnes (mt) of sugar for the 2024-25 season ending September, aiming to stabilise domestic prices, food minister Pralhad Joshi said on Monday.
The move is expected to benefit 50 million farmer families and 500,000 workers, while boosting the liquidity of mills and ensuring timely payments to growers, Joshi said.
The food ministry’s order allows the export of all grades of sugar within allocated quotas, including to new mills starting operations in 2024-25 and those resuming production after closure. Mills can export directly or through merchant exporters until September 30.
The mills have until March 31 to surrender quotas or exchange them with domestic quotas to cut transportation costs.
Besides, the policy enables swapping export quotas with monthly domestic release quantities.
Exports under the advance authorisation scheme will continue as per existing provisions. The decision follows an 18-month low in prices, which has put the mills' margins under pressure.
India's sugar production is forecast to decline to 27 mt in 2024-25, down from 32mt last season, falling short of the domestic consumption requirement of over 29mt.
By mid-January, output stood at 13.06mt, a 13.66 per cent year-on-year decline because of lower yields in key states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, according to the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories.
India had restricted sugar exports entirely during the 2023-24 season to address domestic supply concerns.