By Rajendra Jadhav and Mayank Bhardwaj
MUMBAI (Reuters) -India on Saturday approved the 2022/23 export of 6 million tonnes of sugar, in line with market expectations for the year’s first tranche.
India exported more than 11 million tonnes of sugar in 2021/22 and the industry was expecting that New Delhi this year would allow exports of 8 to 9 million tonnes in two tranches.
India is the world’s biggest producer of sugar and the second biggest exporter.
New Delhi has allocated 6 million tonnes of sugar to mills based on their production in the past three years, the government said in a notification.
Industry officials were expecting the government to allow 5 to 6 million tonnes of sugar in a first tranche and could allow another 2 to 3 million tonnes in a second tranche based on sugar production.
In the notification issued on Saturday the government did not specify whether the government would allow a second tranche, but traders said it likely would as the country’s production is set to hit a record high for a second straight year.
India is expected to produce around 36.5 million tonnes of sugar in the season that began on Oct. 1, a leading industry body said last month.
“During discussion government has assured the industry that it would allow exports in the second tranche. That’s why the government has asked mills to export sugar before May end,” said a senior industry official, who declined to be named.
Mills need to export the allocated quota either themselves or through merchant exporters or refineries before May 31, 2023, the notification said.
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; editing by Toby Chopra and Jason Neely)
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