José Orive, Executive Director at the International Sugar Organisation (ISO), has described the lower supply of Russian beet sugar to big plants of aerated drinks in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan as a big opportunity for Indian exporters.
Advocating for increased efforts on climate-related issues and improved preparedness within the sugar industry, he emphasised that the sector must be responsive to the challenges posed by El Nino in light of unusual weather patterns such as snow on the tips of volcanoes in Guatemala and extreme heat in London, juxtaposed with cold conditions in Spain.
Describing the weather in India's Maharashtra and a drought in North and North-East of Thailand as an exemplified impact of climatic activity, he pitched for more expert bodies to study the impact of climate change.
He cited the example of a Guatemala-based institute's study of the impact of climate change on sugar, which he described as predicting weather fice months in advance with 84 percent certainty.
Terming cycles in global sugar production as irregular, he told CNBC-TV18 that it's not possible for now to develop a model to predict the tenure of such cycles, which he currently described as working on an upswing.
He also called for diversification and decarbonisation in the sugar industry and welcomed the progress made by India and Brazil to amicably resolve their ongoing sugar dispute, which also involves Thailand and Guatemala.
While calling for the world to move ahead together in the absence of any export subsidies, he described claims dubbing the growing of sugarcane as a waste of water as one of the biggest fallacies in the world.
Stating that sugarcane has the second lowest carbon footprint of any arable crop, he questioned the work of many environment groups, terming them as "radical" for raising schisms like "land versus food" and "fuel versus food".
He stated that at COP 26, they presented scientific, peer-reviewed evidence on the subject in the hope of opening the eyes of many naysayers. He claimed that no factual data anywhere proves or lends credence to the allegation of sugarcane as a water-guzzling crop.
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