India to export more sugar to meet demand<\/p>\n
NEW DELHI (Reuters): India, saddled with huge stocks, hopes to
\nexport more than one million tons of sugar by September this year
\nhelped by new demand from Indonesia and Pakistan and better
\nprices, industry officials said on Friday.<\/p>\n
\"We expect that one million tons of sugar will be shipped out
\nof the country by the end of September and contracts for
\ndeliveries in 2001 and early next year could cross 1.5 million
\ntons,\" an exporter said in Ahmedabad.<\/p>\n
He said Indian sugar becomes attractive for exports when
\ninternational prices rise above $250-$255 a ton.<\/p>\n
March white sugar on the London futures market was quoted at
\n$246.5 a ton on Friday.<\/p>\n
Traders said this week Indian mills had sold around 84,000
\ntons of sugar to international trading houses between $253-257 a
\nton FOB.<\/p>\n
Managing director of the National Federation of Cooperative
\nSugar Factories Vinay Kumar said new markets are emerging in
\nIndonesia and the Philippines, and Pakistan needs plenty too.<\/p>\n
The industry planned to send a delegation to Indonesia, which
\nneeded about 300,000-400,000 tons of sugar, he said.<\/p>\n
With the recent deals, India's sugar exports have reached
\n350,000 tons since last August when it began exports to cut a 10-
\nmillion ton stockpile.<\/p>\n
The Indian Sugar and General Industry Export Import Corp Ltd,
\na private body that exports sugar on behalf of the industry, sold
\n14 cargoes of 12,500 tons each in August last year.<\/p>\n
But there has not been much activity since then due to a fall
\nin global sugar prices.<\/p>\n
\"Overall exports should be bright...most of the Thai and
\nBrazilian sugar has been priced. It is only the Indian sugar that
\nis left in the market,\" said Yatin Wadhwana, a leading sugar
\ntrader.<\/p>\n
He said Pakistan had already bought 600,000 tons of sugar from
\nvarious parties since last April and needed another 700,000 to
\n800,000 tons by October.<\/p>\n
India had sold around 200,000 tons to Pakistan since
\nSeptember, of which 150,000 tons had been physically moved out.
\nIndia moves sugar to Pakistan mainly by railway rakes through the
\nnorthwestern state of Punjab.<\/p>\n
Kumar said a shortage of rakes was leading to congestion at
\nthe border and the sugar federation had written to the railways
\nto facilitate faster movement.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, India announced it was cutting to 15
\npercent from 30 percent the quota of output mills supply to the
\ngovernment at cheaper rates effective from April 1.
\nT he reduction in the quota is a measure to gradually ease state
\ncontrols on sugar supplies in line with recommendations of an
\nexpert panel in 1998.<\/p>\n
Media reports said Food Minister Shanta Kumar had agreed to
\nimplement the new decision from February 1 instead of April
\nbecause the bulk of the cane crushing for the current 2000\/01
\n(Oct-Sept) season would be completed by then.<\/p>\n
Analysts said the recent government measures would bring down
\nIndia's domestic prices and boost sugar exports.<\/p>",
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