The government has permitted the export of 15 lakh tonnes (LMT) of sugar for the 2025-26 sugar season and also decided to remove the export duty on cane molasses, making it nil.
Export quota of 15 LMT has been allocated on pro-rata basis amongst operational sugar mills by taking into account their average production of sugar during last three sugar seasons.
All grades of sugar can be exported by a sugar mill /refinery/exporter upto the extent of quantity mentioned. Export quota of 15 LMT have been pro-rated amongst those sugar mills which operated in at least one sugar season amongst the last three sugar seasons by taking into account their average production of sugar during the last three operational sugar seasons i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
All the sugar mills have been allocated a uniform export quota of 5.286% of their 3 years average production of sugar.
Recently, in a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on November 7, Food Minister Pralhad Joshi stated that for the current sugar season, the central government has decided to allow export of 15 lakh tonne of sugar and 50 per cent export duty on molasses has been removed.
Saira Ali, a Sugar Analyst with GlobalData Agri, while speaking to ChiniMandi on November 12 about the outlook for sugar prices in next few months, said:There are reasons to believe that prices could find some support from their current low levels over the coming months. Prices are now trading at a level close to our projections of ethanol parity in Brazil next year, i.e., the floor for the market, bringing into question sugar mix expectations for the 2026/27 harvest,”
“They are also well below the level needed to incentivise Indian exports next year, which seem unlikely currently, despite millers being granted 1.5 million tonnes of exports. Moreover, with the funds still holding a large net short position, one cannot discount a change in their investment strategy, although this may not happen until they rebalance their positions at the end of the year, meaning it is still possible that prices could drift lower in the near term. Moreover, any price recoveries are likely to be jumped upon by Brazilian (and Thai) millers still to make their export fixations for next year,” she further added.
