Balrampur Chini, Dhampur, other sugar stocks surge on higher export prospects

Shares of sugar company rose on Thursday, a day after Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said that India is likely to extend the limit of sugar exports by 2-4 million tonnes in the 2022-23 season. Post the extension, the total exports would be around 8-9 million tonnes.

Shares of sugar companies — Balrampur Chini, Triveni Engineering, Sakthi Sugars, Dhampur Sugar, Shree Renuka — extended gains in Thursday's session.

Earlier in the month, the government approved a first tranche of exports for 2022/23 at six million tonnes. India is expected to produce record sugar at 36 million tonnes this year, and with consumption likely to be around 27-27.5 million tonnes, the remaining 8.5-9 million tonnes can be utilised for exports.

Mills have already signed contracts to export four million tonnes of sugar. India earlier emerged as the world’s largest producer and consumer of sugar and the world’s second largest exporter of sugar.

Sugar demand has also seen a rise due to the return of the wedding season in full force. According to an estimate by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), over 32 lakh weddings will be solemnised between November 14 and December 14.

As a result, the sugar demand in current wedding season is 10-15 percent higher than last year's wedding season.

In sugar season (Oct-Sep) 2021-22, India produced a record 5 lakh metric tonne of sugarcane, of which 3,574 LMT was crushed by mills to produce 394 LMT of sugar.

In May, the country had imposed restrictions on exports till the end of October 2022 to contain a rise in prices and increase availability in the domestic market, following records exports. However, in a notification dated October 28, the government announced that it has extended restrictions on sugar exports till October 31, 2023.