Sugar millers wait for price to firm up before fulfilling export quota
After having contracted to supply three-fourths of the allocated export quota of sugar, Indian sugar mills are holding on to the remaining portion expecting prices of the sweetener to go up.
Export prices have come down by about 3-4% from their peak, after India allowed shipments starting November 5 following a fall in global sugar futures prices.
Although the current export prices are still higher than the domestic market prices by 12-13%, millers are in a wait-and-watch mode as there are still five and a half months left to export the allocated quota.
India imports 46.14 lakh tonnes of urea in Apr-Nov this fiscal
During the first eight months, urea production stood at 187 lakh tonnes
Urea production stood at 187.21 lakh tonnes during April-November period of this fiscal, while imports were at 46.14 lakh tonnes to meet domestic demand.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Bhagwanth Khuba shared the data for consumption, production and import of urea in the last three years.
As per the data, urea production stood at 250.72 lakh tonnes in the 2021-22 fiscal as against 246.05 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 and 244.58 lakh tonnes in the 2019-20 financial year.
Urea imports stood at 91.36 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal, 98.28 lakh tonnes in 2020-21 and 91.23 lakh tonnes in 2019-20.
Urea is presently sold in 45-kg bags and the maximum retail price (MRP) is ₹242 per bag (excluding charges towards neem coating and taxes as applicable).
“The subsidy provided per 45kg bag of urea is approximately ₹1,800 (Q1 of 2022-23),” the minister said.
The difference between the production cost and MRP is reimbursed as subsidy to fertiliser manufacturers.
Jeera hits record high on thin stocks, crop concerns
Warmer weather conditions, lower carryover fuel jeera prices to all-time high of ₹26,700 per quintal
Jeera (cumin) prices have increased to record highs in spot and futures markets on projections of lower carryover stock and fears of sowing in key growing regions of Gujarat being affected.
In the futures market, jeera has zoomed to ₹26,700 per quintal for December contracts. The last peak was ₹22,000 in November 2017. Over the past two months, prices have shot up 12-15 per cent. Prices ruled at about ₹16,300 a year ago.
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