Rising sugar prices is one of the factors driving food inflation, worrying the government about its fallout as the festival season will see buying increase. State elections in early 2017 are another concern, as higher sugar prices make for bad press. However, some good news is coming its way. Sugar industry association Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has put out its revised sugar output estimate, based on a newer set of satellite images. It has raised its sugar output estimate by 100,000 tonnes to 23.37 million tonnes, compared to its earlier estimate made in July. While that’s not a huge increase, it does provide comfort that output will not be lesser than earlier expected. However, these numbers are still subject to variation, depending on actual cane output, the sugar yield and timely crushing. ISMA says there will be enough carry over stocks for the next season, and that imports are not needed.