Govt prohibits export of sugar with immediate effect till September 2026

 The Government of India has prohibited the export of sugar, including raw sugar, white sugar and refined sugar, with immediate effect till September 2026 or until further orders.

The decision was notified by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, which amended the export policy status of sugar from “Restricted” to “Prohibited”.

Exemptions to the Ban: The prohibition will not apply to:

• sugar exports to the European Union and United States under:
  • CXL quota,
  • Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ),
• exports under the Advance Authorisation Scheme,
• Government-to-Government shipments meant for food security needs of other countries,
• consignments already in the physical export pipeline.

Effectively, barring about 14,500 tonnes under concessional preferential quotas to the EU and USA, no sugar exports will be allowed during the remaining part of the 2025–26 sugar season (October–September).

Reasons Behind the Export Ban

1. El Niño Concerns: One major factor behind the decision is the threat posed by El Niño, which refers to the abnormal warming of waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. It is generally associated with:

• weak or subnormal monsoon rainfall in India,
• above-average temperatures,
• adverse impact on water-intensive crops like sugarcane.

Lower rainfall can significantly reduce sugarcane productivity.

2. Fertiliser Supply Constraints: The second concern relates to disruptions caused by the ongoing West Asia crisis. Sugarcane is a highly input-intensive crop requiring: large quantities of water, high doses of fertilisers for optimum growth and yield. Supply disruptions and rising fertiliser prices could adversely affect cane production in the coming season.

3. Domestic Stock Management: The third reason relates to maintaining adequate domestic sugar stocks. Sugar mills are required to submit monthly “P-II” forms before the 10th of every month, detailing opening stock positions.

Based on this data, the Department of Food and Public Distribution allocates monthly sugar sale quotas to mills through the “release mechanism”.