Sugar prices hit record high as cane goes to E20; India rushes to contain crisis

India's sugar market is caught in an unusual crisis. The country has enough sugarcane in the fields, hundreds of distilleries built to feed its ambitious ethanol programme, and a government that has already restricted exports to protect domestic supplies. Yet sugar prices are climbing to record levels, forcing New Delhi to consider an option it has largely avoided for decades: importing sugar. Experts largely blame the crisis on the diversion of sugarcane for production of ethanol.As a precursor to importing sugar, India, according to a report by Reuters on Tuesday, was planning to remove the 100% import duty that had been in place on the commodity.The timing of the sugar price rise could hardly have been more difficult. India's festival season, when demand for sweets and processed foods rises sharply, is approaching.