📰 News ⏱ 2 min

India Says Sugar Price Rise Not Due to Fuel Production

The government clarified that the recent increase in sugar prices is not mainly caused by diverting sugar to make ethanol fuel.

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Key Points

5 points

Sugar price rose from 48.18 to 55.70 Indian rupees per kilogram between July and August.

Ethanol production now relies mainly on grains such as maize (corn) rather than sugar.

Diseases like Red Rot and Top Borer, plus waterlogging, reduced the sugarcane crop.

Global sugar deficit and higher world prices also affect Indian prices.

Government measures include stock limits and monitoring to ensure supply.

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Factors include lower domestic sugarcane harvest, higher demand before festivals, weather damage, and global supply constraints.

The share of sugar used for ethanol has dropped from about 12% in 2022‑23 to roughly 9% in 2025‑26.

Production is expected at 306 million tonnes, below the earlier estimate of 343 million tonnes.

India maintains sufficient sugar stocks until the new crushing season begins in October, and has imposed stock limits on dealers.

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9 words

Ethanol

a type of fuel made from plant materials such as corn

Maize

corn, a grain used in making ethanol fuel

Speculation

guessing about future prices to try to profit

Hoarding

keeping large amounts of a product to sell later at higher prices

Red Rot

a disease that causes sugarcane to turn red and die

Top Borer

an insect that bores into and damages sugarcane stems

Waterlogging

excess water in the soil that harms plant growth

Subsidy

financial help given by the government to support an industry

Stock limit

the maximum amount of product that dealers are allowed to keep

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