Overview
- The food secretary said the government is considering allowing exports, with a committee of ministers likely to meet next week to decide.
- Officials project 34 million tonnes of sugar in 2025–26 against 28.5 million tonnes of domestic demand, with opening stocks of roughly 5.2–5.4 million tonnes.
- Only 3.4 million tonnes were diverted to ethanol in 2024–25 versus a 4.5 million tonne projection, and exports were about 0.8 million tonnes against a 1 million tonne allocation.
- For the 2025–26 ethanol supply year, 289 crore litres were allotted to sugar-based feedstocks and 760 crore litres to grain-based; the government noted sugar mills delivered 289 crore litres from molasses last year after offering 471 crore.
- ISMA seeks at least a 50% ethanol allocation for sugar-based feedstocks and permission to export 2 million tonnes, warning of distillery underutilisation, weak prices and potential delays in cane payments; officials said raw sugar may have export parity but refined does not at current prices.