Indian Sugar Mills Association says sugar output in India may...

Indian Sugar Mills Association says sugar output in India may slump 39 per cent to 16 million tonnes this season. This might force India, the largest consuming nation in the world, to import a projected 1.5 million tonnes.

According to the Association, sugar production is pegged at 16 million tonnes. The difference between the latest projection of the government and the industry has been d rastically narrowed down since the beginning of the sugar season starting October.

Earlier this week, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said the country might produce 16.5 million tonnes of the sweetener this season, starting October 2008, down from about 26.4 million tonnes in 2007-08.

ISMA attributed the slump in production to less cane crop and lower recovery. Recovery refers to the rate of sugar production out of cane.

According to the latest government estimate, sugarcane production may go down significantly to 290.45 million tonnes this season from 348.19 million tonnes last year. ISMA has projected a raw sugar import of up to 1.5 million tonnes to bridge the su pply-demand mismatch in the country this year. India needs 22.5 million tonnes for its annual domestic consumption.
Regards
Buffett