NEW DELHI: India, the world's second-largest sugar producer, may harvest the smallest crop in seven years after drought cut cane planting. Output will probably drop 7% to 23.5 million metric tonnes in the year beginning October 1, from an estimated 25.3 million tonnes this season, according to the median of estimates from seven traders, analysts and industry officials. That would be the lowest since the 18.9 million tonnes in 2009-10, Indian Sugar Mills Association data show. The government on Thursday estimated 2016-17 output at 23 million tonnes to 24 million tonnes.
The first back-to-back shortfall in monsoon rainfall in three decades has left vast tracts of India reeling under a severe drought, prompting farmers to cut cane planting to conserve water for drinking.