With the demand of sugar coming from Indonesia owing to the severe drought conditions in 2019, Indian sugar millers are eager to export sugar and reduce their stockpiles thereby improving their liquidity position.
According to the latest reports, Indonesia stands with an import demand of 1,30,000 tonnes of white crystallized sugar to counterbalance the sugar milling season which is likely to be delayed by a month or two due to the drought conditions. Indonesia has already accorded import of nonindustrial raw sugar from India to meet the domestic demand. The State Logistics Agency proposed to import additional quantity of sugar however specifications are yet awaited.
In conversation with ChiniMandi News, Mr. Prakash Naiknavare – Managing Director – National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories expressed his views on this event of import requirement from Indonesia. He said, “I must say that this is a rare opportunity to create a new record for exports in the history of the Indian sugar industry.
India has a Maximum Admissible Export Quota (MAEQ) of 6 million tonnes – out of which exports for 3.5 million tonnes have already been contracted with no contract for Indonesia amongst owing to the long-due pending issue of most Indian Sugar Millers producing raw sugar with an ICUMSA of less than 800 whereas Indonesia had a level for imported sugar of 1200.
Nevertheless, to structure imports of raw sugar from India, recently Indonesia also changed the International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis (ICUMSA) from 1200 to 600 along with relaxing the import duties from 15 percent to 5 percent. Now the country has a quota of 2.5 million tonnes that can be exported out of which India can export 1.5 to 2 million tonnes and the remaining quantities to the markets of Bangladesh, Malaysia, Korea, Iran and parts of the African countries which India is already on a verge of contracting with them.”
“Indonesia requires only raw sugar, therefore the Indian sugar mills that can produce raw sugar now and have assured cane supply should take benefit of this opportunity and conclude the season with production of raw sugar.” he further added.
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