Maharashtra, India's biggest sugar-producing state, may produce roughly 16% less sugar than originally predicted due to mills closing early due to insufficient sugar cane supply. Reduced sugar output might prohibit the world's second-largest exporter from increasing exports, thus boosting global prices and allowing competitors Brazil and Thailand to raise shipments.
Maharashtra, which produces more than a third of India's sugar, may produce 10.7 to 10.8 million tonnes in the 2022/23 marketing year, which began on Oct. 1, down from an earlier prediction of 12.8 million tonnes, according to Maharashtra's sugar commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad.
"Mills are closing at an alarming rate. Almost all mills will close before the end of the month. In the first week of April, only a few will be active," Gaikwad explained. "Sugar mills in Maharashtra were active till mid-June 2021/22 due to a record crop."
Maharashtra, which frequently surprises the world sugar market with huge fluctuations in production, produced 10.38 million tonnes of sugar as of March 26, down from 11.6 million tonnes during the same period previous year. As of March 26, 155 of the 210 sugar mills that began operations this year have stopped crushing.
This state produced a record 13.7 million tonnes in 2021/22, above an earlier projection of 11.2 million tonnes and allowed New Delhi to export a record 11.2 million tonnes. In the current season, India allowed mills to export only 6.1 million tonnes in the first tranche. The sector expected the government to allow an extra 2 million tonnes of exports in a second batch.
"The sharp dip in Maharashtra's production means no more exports," a government source who declined to be identified stated. Sugar is mostly exported from India to Indonesia, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Sudan, Somalia, and the United Arab Emirates.
