Sugar supply to be affected least
Night curfews and lockdown restrictions are more organised this time, says ISMA
image for illustrative purpose
New Delhi: DISRUPTION in the sugar supply chain is expected to be minimal due to night curfews and lockdown imposed in some States as this time restrictions are more organised and standard operating procedures are in place, industry body ISMA said on Friday.
Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said the country's sugar production reached 29.09 million tonne till April 15 of the 2020-21 season (October-September), higher than 24.82 million tonne in the year-ago period.
Sugar exports were at 2.97 million tonne till March of this season, against the mandatory quota of 6 million tonne set for the current year, it added.
ISMA has pegged the country's sugar production at 30.2 million tonne for the 2020-21 season, as against 27.42 million tonne in the previous year.
Releasing the latest data, ISMA said mills have sold about 12.98 million tonne of sugar in the domestic market till March of this season, against the quota of 12.5 million tonne.
Last year, sugar sales were affected due to the country-wide lockdown and consequent closure of restaurants, malls, movie halls, etc, which in turn had impacted the demand for sugar sweetened products like ice cream. However this year, ISMA said "disruption in the sugar supply chain is expected to be minimal" due to night curfew and lockdowns as this time restrictions are more organised and standard operating procedures are already in place.
On India's sugar production, ISMA said sugar production in Uttar Pradesh - the country's leading sugar producing state - remained marginally lower at 10.08 million tonne till April 15 of the ongoing season, from 10.82 million tonne in the year-ago period.
Production in Maharashtra - the country's second largest sugar producing state - rose to 10.39 million tonne this season from 6.07 million tonne in the year-ago period.
Whereas production in Karnataka - the country's third largest sugar producing state - was 4.14 million tonne till April 15 of the current season as against 3.38 million tonne in the year-ago period.
ISMA said few mills in south Karnataka will operate in the special season from July-September of this year.
Bihar, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Odisha have already closed their crushing operations for the current season, while others except Haryana are on the verge of closure shortly, it added.
