ndia likely to stay net exporter of sugar as supply exceeds demand

New Delhi: India, the second-biggest sugar producer, will be a net exporter for a third year in 2012-2013 as supplies exceed domestic demand, a mills' group said.

"With the current trend of sowing all over the country, it seems certain that sugar production in 2012-2013 season will be higher than the domestic requirement and the country may continue to remain a net exporter next year too," the Indian Sugar Mills Association said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

Prices have plunged 34 per cent from a three-decade high in February 2011 in New York as the global market swung to a surplus, ending three years of shortages. Supplies from India may help compensate any shortfall in production in Brazil, the world's biggest producer, Abah Ofon, an analyst at Standard Chartered Plc, said in an e-mail.

"We continue to highlight structural shortcomings in Brazil's sugar industry, which will limit longer-term supply prospects and which will, in turn, keep markets supported beyond the current season," Ofon said. "India's exportable surpluses have already been largely discounted by the market and so while this news is bearish, the downside will be limited in my view."

source: gulfnews