Indian sugar futures were treading water on Tuesday as a slight improvement in demand due to the summer season outweighed ample supplies and a drop in overseas prices. The key June contract on India's National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was down 0.07 percent at 2,967 rupees per 100 kg at 0928 GMT, after hitting a contract low of 2,949 rupees last week.
"Sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh are aggressively selling. They want to pay cane farmers' dues quickly," said a Mumbai-based dealer. Mills usually pay farmers a large chunk of the cane price immediately after harvest or within two weeks. Spot sugar nudged up one rupee to 3,025 rupees per 100 kg in the Kolhapur market in the top-producing Maharashtra state. Demand for sugar from ice cream and beverage makers typically rises during the summer.