NEW DELHI: India’s sugar exports are likely to drop more than 24% in the current year to September due to logistical constraints such as a shortage of containers and congestion at the country’s ports, a leading trade body said on Thursday.

India, the world’s second biggest sugar producer after Brazil, is likely to sell 4.3 million tonnes of the sweetener on the world market in the 2020-21 season against 5.7 million tonnes shipped in the previous year, said R.P. Bhagria, chief executive of the All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA).

Also, sugar shipments to Iran, a key buyer of India’s sweetener, look likely to drop this year, Bhagria said.

In the 2019/20 season, Iran imported a record 1.14 million tonnes of sugar from India, accounting for some 20% of the country’s sugar exports, according to Indian customs data.