India's 2018-19 sugar export contracts rise to 8.5 lakh tonnes: Traders

PUNE: Indian sugar mills have traded 8.3 lakh tonnes of sugar, if the 50 lakh tonne that they have to export during 2018-19 sugar season with Uttar Pradesh accounting for more than half of the contacts, said traders at a conference organised by All India Sugar Trades Association (AISTA).

“It is our estimate that about 8.3 lakh tonnes of sugar has been traded so far for export. Of this, about 4.5 lakh tonnes has been traded by sugar mills from Uttar Pradesh,” said Praful Vithlani, president, AISTA.

Most of the 8.3 lakh tonnes of sugar contracted for export is raw, said traders. Of the 4.5 lakh tonnes contracted by UP mills, about 2 lakh tonnes are on account of third party contracts.


In third party contracts, sugar mills sell their mandatory minimum indicative export quota (MIEQ) to traders/trade houses, who can buy sugar against such quota from anywhere they want.

Maharashtra millers are still lagging behind as their sugar is pledged with the lending institutions, which are not ready to release the sugar at lower price than its bank determined valuation. The lending cooperative banks don’t want to release the sugar trusting that the government subsidy will come in future.

Meanwhile, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) revised its sugar production estimate downward by 4 million tonnes, from 355 lakh tonnes to 315 lakh tonnes on Monday, taking trade by surprise.