Indian sugar extends gains; Pakistan may issue permits

In India, sugar, the do-it-all feedstock for ethanol, liquor, sweets, bakery products and countless other industries, has shot to a new high of $640 a tonne due to the beginning of the festival season and poor monsoon rains. An Agriculture Ministry official said Indonesia was to release import permits for 260,000 tonnes of raw sugar, as India, the region’s largest consumer, stocks up for next year.

“The price is really high,” an unnamed Singapore dealer told the Business Recorder. “Some are quoting sugar at $630 and $640, and even at those prices, you may not be able to get it. They are holding the cargoes. They don’t want to sell. “I think India would rather sell sugar in the domestic market.” India has released 400,000 tonnes of additional sugar for the September quarter as it tried to control  prices during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and the Hindu festivals. It may also tax sugar exports.

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