India Set To Leave Brazil Behind, Become The Largest Producer Of Sugar In The World

India, which is already the largest consumer of sugar in the world, is now set to become the largest producer by replacing Brazil.

While Brazil is expected to produce approximately 30 million tonnes of sugar in 2018-19, India is slated to hit a production level of 35.5 million tonnes (October-September yearly cycle). This record output comes on the back of a record 32 million tonnes output in 2017-18, leading to successive bumper production years for the sugar sector.

The annual domestic consumption of sugar in India is around the 25 million tonnes mark, leaving a surplus of 10 million tonnes. It is expected that by the end of 2019, India would have a cumulative surplus of 20 million tonnes of sugar, an unprecedented event in India’s history.

Not everyone is happy with this record production. Sugar prices have been subdued globally, impacting possible export. Government packages have been introduced to aid the beefing up of distillery capacity and production of ethanol directly from sugarcane juice in a bid to utilize the produce efficiently.