COMMODITY
Govt considering to allow sugar exports in 2025-26 marketing year amid surplus stocks: Sanjeev Chopra
Oct-29-2025

Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra has said that the government is considering to allow sugar exports in the 2025-26 marketing year, as surplus stocks accumulate due to lower-than-expected diversion of the sweetener for ethanol production. In 2024-25, sugar mills have diverted only 3.4 million tonnes of sugar for ethanol manufacturing, below the projected value of 4.5 million tonnes. Therefore, high opening stocks is available for the 2025-2026 marketing year. Sugar marketing year runs from October to September. 

He said sugar production for 2025-26 is likely to reach 34 million tonnes against the annual domestic demand of 28.5 million tonnes. India exported about 8,00,000 tonnes of sugar against an allocation of 1 million tonnes during the 2024-25 marketing year.  

He noted that even after sugar industry offered to supply 471 crore litres of ethanol from molasses in the 2024-25 ethanol supply year ending October, only 289 crore litres of ethanol have been delivered. During 2024-25 ethanol supply year, the total estimated ethanol supply was 1,048 crore litres, out of which 289 crore litres came from molasses (28 per cent), 478 crore litres from maize (45 per cent), and 235 crore litres from rice (22 per cent).

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