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| Sugarcane for sale at a market in Bangalore, India. (Source: AFP) |
India's move comes for the first time in seven years, amid a lack of rain that has reduced sugarcane yields.
India’s absence from the world market is likely to push up benchmark prices in New York and London, where sugar is trading near multi-year highs, raising concerns about the risk of rising inflation in global food markets.
New Delhi’s main focus is to meet domestic sugar demand and produce ethanol from surplus sugarcane, government sources said. In the upcoming season, India is likely to run out of sugar to meet its export quota.
India has allowed mills to export only 6.1 million tonnes of sugar in the current marketing year to September 30, after allowing businesses to sell a record 11.1 million tonnes in the previous season.
In 2016, India imposed a 20% tax on sugar exports to curb overseas sales.
Rainfall in the top sugarcane-growing districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka, which account for more than half of India's total sugar production, has been up to 50% below average this year, according to the Indian Meteorological Department.
In addition, erratic and scattered rains will also reduce sugar production in 2023-24 and even reduce planting in 2024-25.
India's sugar output is forecast to fall 3.3% to 31.7 million tonnes in 2023-24.
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