BackSugar adds losses, sheds 6% from 7 Jan peak
Sugar adds losses, sheds 6% from 7 Jan peak
PremiumMumbai: Indian spot sugar price fell for a third straight day on Monday on expectations of higher supplies and sluggish demand, dealers said.
In Kolhapur, a key market in top sugar producer Maharashtra, the most traded S-variety sugar fell 1.7% to Rs3,727.2 ($81.6) per 100 kg.
The price has fallen over 6 percent since hitting a peak of Rs3,972.3 on 7 January.
“Bulk buyers have slowed down buying. They are anticipating correction in prices due to government moves," said Ashok Jain, president of Bombay Sugar Merchants Association (BSMA).
“The market is expecting more curbs from government side at the prime minister’s meeting," Jain added.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of chief ministers in last week of January to discuss the price rise of essential commodities.
Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar last week said duty-free imports of white sugar would be extended by nine months to 31 December as New Delhi looks to cover a supply shortfall in the world’s biggest consumer of the sweetener.
India’s sugar output in the first three months of the season from October is expected at 5.5 million tonne, 8.3% lower than a year ago, raising prospects of higher imports in the year to September 2010.
In the 2009/10 season, lower acreage and poor rains will keep India’s output at 15.3 million tonne, falling severely short of domestic consumption of about 23 million tonnes for a second straight year, a Reuters poll showed in October.
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