Kiran Wadhwana, Director, Comdex India Limited moderated the final panel discussion at the 64th ISO Council Meeting. The topic was “Global Demand and Supply of Sugar”, which saw some strong insights and indepth discussions.
Claudiu Covrig, Founder, Covrig Analytics presented a PPT on ‘Global S&D’ with a detailed demand and supply scenario of the top sugar producing and consuming nations. He said there is a strong international demand for Indian sugar. “The International market will need Indian crystal sugar in 2025,” Claudiu said, advocating that there is room for sugar exports in India as it is sitting on higher stocks.
He said that the Indian Government is prioritising the ethanol programme and would be looking at diverting surplus sugar for ethanol production. He expects sugar production in Thailand to recover amid higher acreage.
Ravi Gupta, Director, Shree Renuka Sugars Limited said India should not build a huge sugar surplus stock. The 2024 Southwest Monsoon has been good so far and it has given ample rain in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu so far. “We should look at sugar exports before the Thailand crop comes in. This will give us better realisation,” Gupta said.
Ravi Krishnamurthy, Head (Sugar), COFCO India Private Limited gave his views on global demand and supply of sugar. He said that Bangladesh is facing currency issues and would look at some exports from India.
Sandeep Kadam, MD, ED&F Man India Private Limited said that the wet spells in Europe in major sugar producing places could be a cause of worry as excess wet spells trigger pest issues. There could be some headwinds, which need to be watched out.
