EN 
PT_BR 
By Rajendra Jadhav
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian mills have contracts to export 600,000 tonnes of sugar in the 2024/25 marketing year ending in September, but are reluctant to sign new export deals as local prices have risen, five industry officials told Reuters.
The slower pace of shipments from India, the world's second-largest sugar producer, will support global sugar prices, which are near three-year lows.
After suspending exports last year to calm domestic prices, India in January allowed the export of 1 million tonnes of sugar during the current season to help mills offload surplus stocks.
However, as domestic sugar prices have strengthened and are expected to rise further due to lower production and demand expected for the summer season, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading house, exports have slowed this month after picking up last month.
All sources declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the press.
India's sugar production for the 2024/25 marketing year is expected to fall to 25.8 million tonnes, compared with annual consumption of 29 million tonnes.
Consumption of cold drinks and ice creams increases in India during the summer months, roughly from mid-March to mid-June, increasing the demand for sugar to sweeten them.
Mills have shipped about 250,000 tonnes of the 600,000 tonnes in export contracts signed since January, another New Delhi-based dealer said.
Indian prices of low-quality white sugar are nearly US$$20 per tonne above London futures, prompting buyers to seek better-quality Brazilian sugar that is available at the same price, another dealer at a Mumbai-based trading company said.
India, which sells sugar to countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates, was the world's second-largest exporter for the five years to 2022-23, with volumes averaging 6.8 million tonnes a year.
Despite the current slowdown, mills will be able to export the entire 1 million tonne quota, said Prakash Naiknavare, managing director of the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd.
“Mills have plenty of time. They can export sugar whenever they find a good price until the end of September,” Naiknavare said.
(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav)
