Ethanol production to prevent Indian sugar exports, says trader Wilmar

The increase in ethanol production in India due to higher blending rates will reduce local sugar availability and prevent the country from exporting sugar in the 2024/25 season, Singapore-based commodities trader Wilmar said. India is the world's second-largest sugar producer after Brazil, but the country has been absent from export markets to guarantee local supplies as larger shares of its sucrose output are diverted to produce ethanol instead of sugar. Wilmar projected on Monday that a total of 5 million metric tons of sucrose will be diverted to ethanol production in the 2024/25 season as India targets higher blending rates of ethanol into gasoline to reduce its oil imports.