Sugar Export Ban in India
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- Context : The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has placed exports of all types of raw, white, and refined sugar under the “prohibited” category.
- This ban comes into effect immediately. It will continue until the end of the current 2025–26 sugar season, i.e., September 30, 2026.
- Only about 14,500 tonnes of sugar exports are allowed under preferential quota commitments to the European Union (EU) and the United States (US).
- Reasons for the Ban
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- Concerns that monsoon and sugarcane production could be affected by the impact of ‘El Nino’.
- Global uncertainties, such as the Iran issue, are also major reasons for this decision.
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- Production and Stock Details
- Sugar production for the year 2025–26 is estimated to be around 279 lakh tonnes.
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- As of October 1, 2025, the opening stock is more than 50 lakh tonnes.
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- Objective
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- This measure has been taken to ensure the country’s food security, control sugar price hikes in the domestic market, and ensure abundant availability, even amidst global and climate-related uncertainties.
Sugar Production
- Globally, India is the largest consumer of sugar and the second-largest producer of sugar.
- Tamil Nadu ranks second in sugarcane productivity in India.
About Sugarcane crop
- Sugarcane production requires a temperature between 21°C and 27°C, and a humid climate with 75–150 cm of rainfall.
- Compared to northern India, due to the tropical climate of southern India, the sugarcane grown here has a higher sucrose content, and the yield per hectare is also higher.
- Uses: It is a tropical and sub-tropical cash crop used for the production of sugar, jaggery, ethanol, and bioenergy.
Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)
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- The ‘Fair and Remunerative Price’ (FRP) is the price legally determined by the Central Government at which sugar mills must purchase sugarcane from farmers. Sugar mills are legally bound to pay this price to the farmers.
- This FRP price is fixed based on the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and is approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
