Indian sugar futures were steady on Friday as good rainfall in cane growing areas and forecast of surplus production for a fourth straight year offset expectations of a rise in demand due to festivals. The contract has been trading in a narrow range of 3,010 rupees to 3,038 rupees for eleven straight sessions.
Spot sugar was unchanged at 3,045 rupees per 100 kg at the Kolhapur market in Maharashtra state. India is likely to produce 23.7 million tonnes of sugar in the 2013/14 marketing year beginning October, down 5.2 percent from a year earlier but higher than the local demand of around 23 million tonnes. Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, the top two sugar producers in India, received more rainfall than normal since the beginning of the monsoon on June 1, weather department data showed, boosting prospects of higher production.