India's sugar exports for the 2024-25 marketing season have reached 7.75 lakh tonnes, according to the All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA). The sugar marketing season in India runs from October to September. The government had permitted sugar exports for the 2024-25 season starting January 20, 2025, with a total allowable quantity of 10 lakh tonnes.

Of the total exports, 6.13 lakh tonnes were white sugar, 1.04 lakh tonnes were refined sugar, and 33,338 tonnes were raw sugar. Approximately 21,000 tonnes of raw sugar were delivered to a refinery in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), which are considered deemed exports.

Djibouti was the top destination for India's sugar exports, receiving 1.46 lakh tonnes. Somalia followed with 1.35 lakh tonnes, and Sri Lanka with 1.34 lakh tonnes. Afghanistan imported 75,533 tonnes of Indian sugar.

AISTA had initially projected sugar exports to be around 8 lakh tonnes for the 2024-25 season but has provisionally placed the actual exports at 7.75 lakh tonnes for the period between February and September.

India is the world's second-largest sugar producer. Sugar production for the 2024-25 season is estimated at 26.10 million tonnes. For the upcoming 2025-26 season, the Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) projects an 18% increase in sugar production, reaching 34.90 million tonnes. This projection includes the expected diversion of sugar for ethanol production.

The National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd (NFCSF) anticipates sugar production to reach 35 million tonnes in the 2025-26 season, citing favorable monsoons, increased sugarcane cultivation in Maharashtra and Karnataka, and a timely increase in the Fair and Remunerative Price by the government.

Lower sugar production has been attributed to reduced sugarcane availability, adverse weather conditions, increased diversion of sugarcane for ethanol production, and pest and disease outbreaks. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh are expected to see the most significant drops in output.

AISTA has requested the government to permit sugar exports for the 2025-26 sugar marketing year and announce the export quota by November 2025. The trade body has also requested the government to maintain the same export quota policy for allocation and exchange among mills as was followed in the 2024-25 sugar marketing year. The government is expected to allow sugar exports from October, given signs of a bumper crop.

Sugar exports help the Indian government support local sugar prices and ensure that farmers receive timely payments of the guaranteed minimum price for their cane from sugar mills.