MUMBAI, March 26 (Reuters) - India sugar futures rose in morning trades Thursday after the farm minister comments the country may not need white sugar imports at zero-duty and that the import of raws may be lower than anticipated as local prices had fallen, analysts said.
Traders had speculated India may scrap the 60 percent import duty on white sugar, but Farm Minister Sharad Pawar told Reuters this may not be necessary as prices had fallen. See [ID:nDEL390530]
Futures also took support from a downward revision in output estimates.
India is expected to produce 15.5 million tonnes in the crop year to September, the president of the Indian Sugar Mills Association, Samir Somaiya, told reporters on Monday.
The forecast was lower than the farm minister's estimate of 16 million tonnes and well below last year's output of about 26.5 million tonnes.
At 10:29 a.m., the April contract NSMJ9 on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was up 0.59 percent at 2,062 rupees per 100 kg.
But gains were capped by higher supplies in the spot market, as traders stepped up sales to comply with government-imposed stock limits, analysts added.
The government earlier this month fixed a limit of 200 tonnes on sugar stocks held by dealers and directed them to sell supplies within 30 days of purchasing the commodity.
Source : REUTERS INDIA