MUMBAI, April 21 (Reuters) - Indian sugar futures fell for a sixth day on Tuesday on higher supplies in the spot market after the government raised non-levy sugar quota and on imports of duty free whites, analysts said.
Non-levy, or free sale sugar, is sold by millers in the open market, but the quantity each mill can sell is fixed by the federal government.
India had allocated 5.4 million tonnes of non-levy sugar for the April-June quarter, including buffer stocks and unsold stock from March.
But in the last fortnight, concerns of lower output pushed up sugar prices sharply, prompting the government to release an additional 600,000 tonnes of non-levy sugar for the quarter on Friday. See [ID:nBMB005022]
The country has contracted to buy 20,000 tonnes of white sugar imports, the latest in a series of moves to curb domestic prices, a top official of the food ministry said on Monday. See [ID:nDEL427527]
At 10:03 a.m., the May contract NSMK9 on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was down 0.54 percent at 2,227 rupees per 100 kg.
An estimated sharp drop in output and firm summer demand from cool drink and ice-cream makers limited the losses, they added.
India's sugar output will fall to 14.2 million tonnes in 2008/09, sharply lower than 26.5 million tonnes a year ago, a top trade official said earlier this month.
Source : REUTERS INDIA