India's sugar exports to be 7.5-8 lakh tonnes in 2025-26 season on weak global prices: Official

New Delhi: India is likely to export only 7.5 to 8 lakh tonnes of sugar in the current 2025-26 marketing season (October-September) due to unfavourable global price parity, according to a senior government official.

The world's second-largest sugar producer keeps exports under government control through quotas distributed proportionally among mills.

For 2025-26, the Food Ministry initially allowed 1.5 million tonnes in exports, then opened an additional 500,000-tonnes pool, of which only 87,587 tonnes were approved.


"The full season physical shipments would likely land around 7.5-8 lakh tonnes. There is no parity in global prices for exports to be undertaken at present," the official said.

India has already exported 5 lakh tonnes as on March 3, and mills are unlikely to utilise the full-season export quota even though outbound sales were more active earlier in the season, the official added.

Domestic sugar consumption patterns have shifted in recent years, with demand growth stagnating as offtake volumes remain flat. The trend has reduced overall consumption, leaving tighter-than-expected surplus availability for exports despite a modest recovery in production.

Domestic sugar production has reached 27.5 million tonnes so far this season, with total output pegged at 28.2 million tonnes -- slightly above the 26.1 million tonnes recorded in 2024-25.