Indian sugar futures dropped on Monday as traders booked profits in contracts pushed up by lower output estimates for the current crop year, and as weak spot demand dampened sentiment, analysts said. At 2:35 pm (0905 GMT), the February contract on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was down 0.47 percent at 1,490 rupees ($37.73) per 100 kg.
The March contract had fallen 0.71 percent to 1,531 rupees. Both contracts had risen more than 10 percent since the start of January. "Futures climbed on lower production estimate and now traders are booking profit weakness in the spot prices is also dampening sentiments," said Veeresh Hiremath, an analyst with Karvy Comtrade Ltd Farm Minister Sharad Pawar said last week sugar output was likely to be around 26 million tonnes in the crop year to September, nearly 12 percent lower than forecasts and below the previous year's 28.4 million tonnes. In Kolhapur, a hub for the sugar trades in the western state of Maharashtra, prices fell 8.35 rupees to 1,451.65 rupees per 100 kg.