Indian sugar futures rose marginally on Friday, snapping a three-session losing streak, but traders said the contract could fall again due to weak fundamentals. At 1026 GMT, the key December contract was up 0.21 percent at 2,841 rupees per 100 kg on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange.
"It is just a blip and prices will fall again due to massive stocks lying with mills," said Mukesh Kuvadia, secretary general of the Bombay Sugar Merchants Association. India started the new sugar marketing year with carry-forward stocks of 8.8 million tonnes. The country is expected to produce 25 million tonnes this year against a demand of 23 million tonnes.
A pick-up in exports could help mills in trimming inventory and support prices, dealers said. Indian traders have struck deals to export about 175,000 tonnes of raw sugar for December-January delivery, marking their first sale in the new season that started on October 1.