It is reported by Nasdaq.

"Government's priority is to ensure sufficient availability of sugar for consumption, ethanol production and maintaining closing stocks of 6 million tonnes for 2023/24 season," the Department of Food and Public Distribution said in a statement.

Reuters on Wednesday reported that India expected to ban mills from exporting sugar in the next season beginning October, halting shipments for the first time in seven years, as a lack of rain has cut cane yields.

India allowed mills to export only 6.1 million tonnes of sugar during the current season to Sept. 30, after letting them sell a record 11.1 million tonnes last season.

The world's second-largest sugar exporter last year placed sugar in a restricted category until Oct. 31, 2023 "in order to prevent uncontrolled export of sugar and with a view to ensure sufficient availability of sugar for domestic consumption at a reasonable price," the food department added.

Local sugar prices SUG-MMZR-NCX rose on Thursday to their highest level in nearly two years. The government allowed mills to sell an extra 200,000 tons of sugar in August to keep a lid on rising prices.

Monsoon rains in the top cane growing districts of the western state of Maharashtra and the southern state of Karnataka - which together account for more than half of India's total sugar output - have been as much as 50% below average so far this year, weather department data showed.

India's sugar production could fall 3.3% to 31.7 million tonnes in the 2023/24 season, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said earlier this month.