Jan.-May exports at 45 lakh tonnes

Sugar production between October 1, 2020, and May 31 rose to 305.68 lakh tonnes — 35.63 lakh tonnes higher than that of the corresponding period in the 2019-20 sugar season.

Compared with 18 sugar mills that were crushing sugarcane on May 31 last year, only seven, located in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, were into the process on May 31 this year, the Indian Sugar Mills’ Association said in a press release on Tuesday.

The association added that export contracts were entered for almost 58 lakh tonnes of sugar, as against the 60 lakh tonnes of maximum admissible export quantity (MAEQ) fixed by the government. 

It is estimated that about 45 lakh tonnes of sugar had been exported between January and May this year. In addition to the above, 4.48 lakh tonnes were exported in October-December last year as against the MAEQ quota of the previous season.

Recently, the government had reduced assistance for sugar exports from ₹6,000 a tonne to ₹4,000 a tonne of sugar for exports against MAEQ for 2020-2021 sugar season. The reduced assistance will be applicable for export contracts signed on or after May 20, 2021.