NEW DELHI: Indian mills have produced nearly 4% more sugar since the current season began last October, an industry body said in a statement on Tuesday, as more mills are operational this year.

Mills have produced 15.7 million tonnes of sugar so far in the season, up from 15.1 million tonnes churned out during the same period a year earlier, the Indian Sugar Mills Association said.

Between Oct. 1 and Jan. 15, 515 sugar mills were operational in the country against 507 mills a year ago, the statement said.

India is the world’s biggest producer of sugar and the second-biggest exporter.

Indian mills exported an all-time high of more than 11 million tonnes of sugar in the 2021/22 season.

During the current 2022/23 season, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has allowed overseas shipments of 6 million tonnes of sugar, and New Delhi may permit more overseas sales of the sweetener in the second tranche.