The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Wednesday prohibited exports of raw, white and refined sugar with immediate effect till September 30 or until further orders. This has come amid the backdrop of the ongoing West Asia conflict. However, the prohibition will not apply to US and the European Union under the preferential quota, the notification said. The government took this step to ensure local availability amid concerns over lower production.
On advance authorisation scheme (AAS), government-to-government exports, and consignments already in the physical export pipeline, the prohibition of sugar will not be applicable.
This decision is aimed at balancing domestic supply and stock position. Sugar production in the 2025-26 season (October-September) has been estimated at about 275 lakh tonnes .
The projected domestic consumption requirement is 280 lakh tonnes, while the opening stock stands at 50 lakh tonnes. The total availability of 325 lakh tonnes can comfortably meet the projected domestic consumption requirement. It will leave the closing stocks of sugar at 45 lakh tonnes, which is the lowest since the 39.4 lakh tonnes of 2016-17.
Due to the Middle East crisis, the government doesn’t want to take any chances with lower production in the 2026-27 season from subnormal monsoon rains and anticipated shortfalls in fertiliser availability.
