India may sell less of sugar abroad than previously estimated because of higher domestic prices, supporting a globally rally in the commodity, according to Bloomberg. Exports may total 3 million metric tonnes in the season ending Sept. 30, SL Jain, director general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association said in an interview in Mumbai. That's less than 3.5 million tonnes the group orecast in February. Prices in Maharashtra, the nation's biggest sugar-producing state, have climbed almost 40% to Rs1,250 (US$31) per 100 kilograms on average since the season started. Prices in Uttar Pradesh have risen 25% in the period, Jain said. It is more profitable now to sell sugar locally,” he said. “A lot of factories have defaulted” on their export contracts because of rising domestic prices. Mills have sold 2.1 million tonnes of sugar since Oct. 1, including 1.3 million tonnes of raw sugar, he said. The country shipped only 1.7 million tonnes last year because of a ban on exports that was lifted in January 2007.
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