Food & BeverageBiofuel push, climate stress drastically reshape world's former 2nd-largest sugar exporterWorkers unload sacks of sugar from trucks at the Deendayal Port in Kandla, in the western state of Gujarat, India, in April 2025. © ReutersQURATULAIN REHBARJuly 6, 2026 11:16 JSTNEW DELHI -- India's push to expand ethanol production is transforming one of the world's biggest sugar industries, with mills increasingly investing in biofuels as the country prepares for little or no exportable sugar surplus for at least the next several production seasons, according to multiple people with knowledge of industry circumstances.