New Delhi, June 25 - India is expected to export a record 4.2 million tonnes of sugar in the crop year to September, exceeding earlier estimates of 3.5 million tonnes, a top trade official said on Wednesday.
With the surge in exports, which have never been more than 2 million tonnes in a year, India would sell more sugar abroad than Australia, Shanti Lal Jain, director general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), told Reuters in an interview.
"With India's emergence, the whole sugar exporting community feels threatened," he said.
ISMA, the apex body of leading private sugar mills, had earlier estimated that exports in the current crop year would double to about 3.5 million tonnes.
Analysts said overseas sales accelerated in the past two-three months, the peak of the sugarcane crushing season, and were now tapering off.
Out of the projected exports of 4.2 million tonnes, 3.6 million tonnes have already been exported, Jain said, adding that raws accounted for 2.3 million tonnes.
He said India's efforts to tap raw sugar export markets had helped sales surge.
"The secret of our success is that we are giving the best quality of raw sugar and making the best out of our strategic location which gives us freight advantage," he said.
India, the world's second-biggest sugar producer, entered the raw sugar export market in 2007 by selling to Dubai's Al Khaleej, the world's largest refinery, which has now switched to India from top producer Brazil.