India has banned the export of sugar until the end of this coming September.

This measure, taken to maintain adequate domestic stocks and control prices, exempts the European Union and the United States, as well as countries included under CXL and Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQ).

Additionally, countries that have existing government-to-government arrangements will also receive exemptions.

As the special agreement between India and the Maldives is an arrangement that functions similarly to the TRQ, the export of sugar to the Maldives will not be prohibited.

The policy for exporting sugar (raw sugar, white sugar, and refined sugar) has been amended for immediate implementation, moving these items from the 'restricted' list to the 'prohibited' list.

A notification issued yesterday by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) stated that this decision will remain in effect until September 30 or until further notice.

The Indian government initially authorized the export of 1.5 million tonnes of sugar for the 2025-26 sugar marketing season (October to September). Although an additional 500,000 tonnes were later opened for export, only 87,587 tonnes of that amount were actually authorized.

The Food Ministry and sugar mills have estimated that between 750,000 and 800,000 tonnes of sugar will be exported during the entire 2025-26 marketing period.