The great Indian sugar trap: how a decade of surplus left India with nothing to spare

India is importing sugar for the first time in nearly a decade — a million tonnes, duty-free — to cool prices before the festive season. Four years ago, it exported a record 11 million tonnes.

Retail prices are up around 40% from last year. In Odisha, a kilo crossed ₹67. The government has capped stocks, halted exports and ordered mills to declare their sales.

Production came in about 11% below forecast, at 30.6 million tonnes.

The world's second-largest sugar producer just became an importer. How?

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Host

Snigdha Sharma

Senior producer and co-host of The Ken's flagship daily news podcast. Previously hosted and produced podcasts at The Indian Express and Newslaundry

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Business news is complex and overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be. Every day of the week, from Monday to Friday, Daybreak tells one business story that’s significant, simple and powerful.

Hosted from The Ken’s newsroom by Snigdha Sharma and Rachel Varghese, Daybreak relies on years of original reporting and analysis by some of India’s most experienced and talented business journalists.