ICE raw sugar down as world deficit seen easing.

Raw sugar futures contracts were down on the ICE, as the global supply deficit is expected to ease. The benchmark May raw sugar contract on the ICE was down 0.9% at $18.97 cents a pound. The world supply deficit may narrow because India may not import more sugar this year as expected, and stick to the approved import of 500,000 tonne raw sugar. The government is expected to allow import of white sugar on the likelihood of an El Nino event in 2017.

Dalmia Bharat Sugar surrenders raw sugar import quota.

Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Ltd has surrendered the quota allocated to it by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade for import of raw sugar. The mill has surrendered the quota as the quantity allocated to it was very small and thus import would be unviable. Running refineries for just seven-to-eight days of operations is not viable. Dalmia Bharat Sugar had applied for 100,000 tonne raw sugar–50,000 tonne each from the east zone and the south zone. The government considered monthly refining capacity of mills, quantity applied, and number of applications within a zone while considering requests for raw sugar import. Such a small quantity that too from two different ports would not be viable. Dalmia (Bharat Sugar) had opted out of the quota before Apr 28, and license has not been issued to it. If an pplicant fails to bring in sugar after obtaining a licence, they would have to pay a penalty of 0.5% of the value of the unutilised quota.

Sugar Up in Maharashtra on rise in demand, unchanged in north India.

Prices of sugar rose in the key wholesale of markets of Maharashtra due to an increase in demand from bulk and retail buyers. Medium-grade sugar was sold up 7 rupees from previous close. Prices remained unchanged in Delhi and Muzaffarnagar amid thin trade. Demand has risen as stockists are replenishing their stocks. In Maharashtra, where prices had fallen for the past one week, demand also rose due to buying at lower price levels. Traders, however, are bearish on prices in the near-to-medium term. Demand not sustain for too long. It remains high only for this week. Prices in Maharashtra are also expected to fall as the selling pressure on mills is expected to increase once the imports come in.

Pakistan to give 38,000 tonne seeds to cotton farmers.

The government of Pakistan is set to distribute 38,000 tonne of certified and approved cotton seeds to the farmers across the country to enhance output. This year cotton crop production target was at 14.40 million bales (1bale=170kg) as compared to the production targets of 14.1 million bales in 2016. To achieve maximum crop output, the government ensure supply of 100% certified cotton seeds to farmers, during the current kharif season. Pakistan is the India second largest cotton export destination.

Uttar Pradesh Oct 1-May 1 sugar output 8.7 million tonne, up 28% on year.

Mills across Uttar Pradesh produced 8.70 million tonne of sugar during Oct 1-May 1, up 28% from a year ago. The state had produced 6.80 million tonne sugar during the corresponding period a year ago. Mills in the state have crushed 82.04 million tonne cane so far, compared with 64.08 million tonne in the year-ago period. Average sugar recovery in Uttar Pradesh as of Monday was 10.61%, slightly higher than 10.60% a year ago. Of the 116 sugar mills in the state that started cane crushing operations this year, 102 mills have wound up the process so far. With some mills in Uttar Pradesh still operating. Market participants expect output of the sweetener in the state this season to touch an all-time high of 8.80 million tonne, surpassing the previous high of 8.47 million tonne in 2006-07.

Spot sugar prices rise on improved demand.

Prices of sugar rose in the key wholesale markets of Muzaffarnagar and Mumbai, as demand for the sweetener improved at low prices, and as Stuckists sought to replenish inventories at the start of the month. In Muzaffarnagar and Delhi, sugar was sold up 10 rupees from previous close. In Mumbai, sugar was sold up 5 rupees from Monday. In Maharashtra, where prices had fallen for the last one week, demand also rose due to buying at lower price levels. In north India, soaring prices are unlikely to sustain due to record high sugar output in Uttar Pradesh. Mills across Uttar Pradesh produced 8.70 million tonne of sugar during Oct 1-May 1, up 28% from a year ago. The government had on Apr 5 allowed duty-free import of 500,000 tonne of raw sugar under the tariff rate quota. The most-active May contract was up 0.2%.

ICE raw sugar up 1% due to lower output in Brazil.

Futures contracts of raw sugar on the ICE rose over 1% due to a decline in production in Brazil Centre-South region in the first half of April. The contracts had declined to a 12-month low last week. the July contract was up 1.1% from the previous close. Mills in Brazil Centre-South region produced 704,000 tonne of sugar during the first fortnight of April, down 51% from a year ago. The sharp fall in sugar output could be attributed to lower grinding and a reduction observed in the production mix.

Iran Likely to Produce 22.5 MMT of Rice in 2017.

Iran is likely to produce 22.5 MMT of rice in 2017 compared to 21 MMT in 2016. For meeting its additional requirements of Basmati rice Iran depends on imports. The increase in production over the years is continuously reducing its dependency on imports. Iran imported 14.40 LMT in 2013-14, 9.66 LMT in 2014-15, 6.95 LMT in 2015-16 and 5.50 LMT during the first ten months of 2016-17 (April 2016 to January 2017) from India. It is estimated that in fiscal year 2016-17 Iran is likely to import 6.50 LMT of basmati rice from India. Therefore, Iran demand of basmati rice is likely to fall in coming year because increase in production.

Govt FY18 wheat procurement up over 18% on year at 25 million tonne.

The government has procured 24.66 million tonne of wheat across the country so far, this marketing year started April. The procurement is 18.3% higher than in the year-ago period, as production in 2016-17 (Jul-Jun) is seen at a record high. Procurement by the government was the highest in Punjab at 10.92 million tonne, up 10.4% from a year ago. Haryana was the second, at 7.06 million tonne, up 9.2% on year. In Uttar Pradesh, where the state government expects to procure a whopping 8 million tonne of wheat this year, 904,704 tonne has already been procured. The purchase is 152.8% higher on year. In Madhya Pradesh, another major producer, the government has bought 5.06 million tonne of the grain so far, up 39.1% from the year-ago period. In Indore, the grain was sold up 10-20 rupees from Saturday. Overall, the central government has set a target to procure 33.0 million tonne of wheat in the current marketing season, up from 22.9 million tonne on year.

Efforts to foster sustainable rice production gain traction in nigeria.

To help meet national demand of around 5.2m tonnes in 2016, Nigeria imported 2.3m tonnes of rice last year, according to the UNs Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). This heavy reliance on external sources has seen Nigeria – currently the world second-largest importer of the grain after China – import around 17m tonnes of rice in the last five years, with the country spending an average of $5m per day on shipments of the grain, Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural development, told international media earlier this year.

Low supply lifts Indore wheat price; down in Delhi.

Wheat prices in the benchmark market of Indore rose due to a decline in supplies. In Indore, the grain was sold up 10-20 rupees from the previous day. Around 5,000 bags (1bag=100kg) of wheat were brought to Indore markets down from 7,000-8,000 bags. Wheat prices in the key wholesale market of Delhi fell because supplies from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are on a rise. Wheat was quoted down 15 rupees from the previous day. Arrivals were at around 50,000 tonne up from 40,000 tn. The most active May wheat contract on NCDEX had hit a two-month low down 0.9% from previous close. The July wheat contract on CBOT was at $4.58 a bushel, up 0.6% from previous close.

Haryana Arrival Update.

Until 01st May over 69 lakh tonne of wheat have arrived in Haryana compared to 64.59 lakh tonne for the same period last year. Traders and government agencies have purchased 5874 tonne and 69.27 lakh tonne of wheat respectively. Of the total quantity procured by government agencies around 17.02 lakh tonnes has been procured by food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department, 24.72 lakh tonne by HAFED, 8.23 lakh tonne by FCI, 6.36 lakh tonne by Haryana Agro Industries corporation and 12.91 lakh tonne by Haryana warehousing corporation. Sirsa is the leading district with 9.69 lakh metric tonne of arrival