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Processed food

Export molasses

Bulk cane molasses for distilleries and feed. The 50% export duty of 2024 was removed in November 2025; exports are still small.

Free to exportHS 1703
HS code
1703
Molasses from sugar extraction or refining: cane molasses (1703 10) and other, including edible molasses (1703 90).
Export policy
Free to export
Export is Free under ITC(HS). Export duty on cane molasses (1703 10 00) was cut to nil from 14 Nov 2025 (Customs Notification 48/2025, as reported; we could not open the CBIC text) — confirm the current rate on CBIC and state molasses-movement permits with your state excise department.
Registrations
4
IEC, GST and those below
India’s exports, 2025-26
US$ 7.3 mn
to 5 countries

What is exported

A 50% export duty on molasses applied from 18 January 2024, and exports fell to about US$ 7 million in 2025-26, mainly to Bangladesh, Egypt and France (TradeStat). The duty on cane molasses was removed with effect from 14 November 2025. At home, most molasses now goes to ethanol, which keeps exportable surplus limited.

Varieties, grades and forms

  • Cane molasses (final / C-heavy)By-product after sugar crystallisation; for distilleries and feed.
  • B-heavy molassesHigher sugar; mostly diverted to ethanol at home.
  • Edible molasses (1703 90 10)For food and baking uses.

Where it is grown or made

  • Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and KarnatakaSugar mill belts; port tank farms at Kandla, Mumbai, Kakinada and Tuticorin.
  • Tamil Nadu and GujaratMills close to export ports.

Season

Produced during crushing (about November–April); stored in tanks for later shipment.

Export packing

  • Bulk liquid tankers by ship; flexitanks in 20-ft containers; drums for edible molasses.

Who buys abroad

  • Distilleries and fermentation plants
  • Animal-feed blenders
  • Yeast makers

The quality buyers ask for

Brix
Typically about 80–85° Brix, as contracted
Total reducing sugars (TRS)
Minimum TRS % set in the contract
Ash and impurities
Maximum sulphated ash and sludge

Certificates

  • APEDA RCMCRequiredRegistration with APEDA, issued as an RCMC on the DGFT portal; not needed for consignments up to ₹3 lakh FOB since 15 Sep 2026.
  • State molasses permitRequiredPermit from the state excise or cane department to lift and transport molasses.
  • FSSAI licenceRequiredCentral licence from FSSAI for the premises where food is packed or stored for export.

Shipping, storage and shelf life

Container load

Flexitanks in 20-ft containers typically take about 20–24 tonnes; bulk tankers for large lots.

How it travels

Bulk liquid shipments from port tank farms (Kandla, Mumbai, Kakinada, Tuticorin).

Storage

Steel tanks; avoid water ingress and heat that cause fermentation.

What goes on the pack and carton

  • Drums and tanks: product name and grade, batch number, net and gross weight, manufacturing date, hazard labels where the safety data sheet requires them, and "Made in India".
Where to get it tested

Search the NABL directory (nabl-india.org) for a laboratory accredited for the exact tests in your contract, or use an independent inspection agency the buyer names; keep the certificate of analysis with each batch number.

Benefits of exporting this product

Where to register

  • APEDARegistration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC) for APEDA-scheduled products. Apply on the DGFT portal after you have your IEC.dgft.gov.in ↗
  • State excise departmentMost sugar states control the sale and movement of molasses; you need a permit to lift and move it to the port.dfpd.gov.in ↗

Quality and checks

  • Buyers specify Brix, total reducing sugars (TRS), sulphated ash and viscosity; agree the sampling point (tank or ship) in the contract.
  • Independent surveyor for quantity (tank gauging) and quality at loading.
How to start small

Molasses moves in bulk from port tank farms (Kandla, Mumbai, Kakinada, Tuticorin). A newcomer can start by trading flexitank containers of molasses or edible molasses to a feed or food buyer in Bangladesh or the Gulf. Since 15 September 2026, a consignment worth up to ₹3 lakh FOB does not need an RCMC (DGFT Notification 36/2026-27); registrations required by a law still apply.

Where new exporters go wrong

  • Assuming the old 50% duty or the new nil rate without checking — export duty on molasses has changed twice since 2024.
  • Losing Brix through dilution or fermentation in storage; claims are settled on the discharge analysis.

Documents this product needs

Schemes that apply

Sources (5)
  1. Department of Commerce — TradeStat, India’s exports by commodity and country (2025-26)
  2. CBIC — Customs notifications (tax information portal)
  3. DGFT — Appendix 4R, RoDTEP schedule for DTA exports w.e.f. 10 Oct 2024 (Notification No. 32, 30 Sep 2024)
  4. DGFT — Appendix 2T, export promotion councils, boards and the products they cover (as on 6 Feb 2023)
  5. DGFT Notification 36/2026-27 (15 Sep 2026) — no RCMC needed for consignments up to ₹3 lakh FOB

Trade data

Indian molasses exports in numbers

From the Department of Commerce’s TradeStat, country by country. US$, Indian financial years (April–March).

Exports in 2025-26
US$ 7.3 mn
-47.3% a year on average, 2020-21 to 2025-26
Change from 2024-25
↓ -75.2%
US$ 29.2 mn → US$ 7.3 mn
Buyer countries
5
Average export price
US$ 0.17
per kg · 41,581 tonnes shipped · US$ 0.19 the year before
Bangladesh: US$ 4.3 mnEgypt: US$ 1.8 mnFrance: US$ 1 mnBhutan: US$ 70kUnited Kingdom: US$ 20kBangladesh: US$ 4.3 mnBangladeshEgypt: US$ 1.8 mnEgyptFrance: US$ 1 mnFranceBhutan: US$ 70kBhutanUnited Kingdom: US$ 20kIndia
Where Indian molasses goes — among our 80 countries, 2025-26
2020-21: US$ 179 mn1792020-212021-22: US$ 218 mn2182021-222022-23: US$ 257 mn2572022-232023-24: US$ 133 mn1332023-242024-25: US$ 29.2 mn292024-252025-26: US$ 7.3 mn7.32025-26
India’s molasses exports, year by year · US$ million

The price cycle

India’s average export price per kg each year (total value ÷ total quantity). Highest in 2024-25, lowest in 2020-21 — a 39% swing between them. Keep this swing in mind when you quote.

2020-21: US$ 0.14 per kg0.142021-22: US$ 0.16 per kg2022-23: US$ 0.16 per kg2024-25: US$ 0.19 per kg0.192025-26: US$ 0.17 per kg0.172020-212021-222022-232023-242024-252025-26
Average export price of Indian molasses · US$ per kg · dotted = year in between not available

What next: a projection from the trend

The past trend carried forward — not a forecast by any authority. Sudden changes in policy, prices or demand are not in it.

2020-21: US$ 179 mn2020-212021-22: US$ 218 mn2021-222022-23: US$ 257 mn2022-232023-24: US$ 133 mn2023-242024-25: US$ 29.2 mn2024-252025-26: US$ 7.3 mn2025-262026-27: US$ 8.4 mn (US$ 2.7 mn – US$ 25.6 mn)8.42026-272027-28: US$ 4.4 mn (US$ 1.3 mn – US$ 15.2 mn)4.42027-28
India’s molasses exports and projection · hollow bars = projection, line = likely range
By 2027-28: US$ 4.4 mn

Likely range US$ 1.3 mn to US$ 15.2 mn.

Trend
-47.7% a year
Fit (R²)
0.73
Based on
6 years of official figures

Method: a straight line through the logarithm of yearly exports (log-linear regression); range = ±1 standard error.

Biggest buyer countries

By value in 2025-26. Change is against 2024-25.

Name2025-26Change
1BangladeshUS$ 4.3 mn-85.1%
2EgyptUS$ 1.8 mn—
3FranceUS$ 1 mn—
4BhutanUS$ 70k0%
5United KingdomUS$ 20k0%
6Bahrain——
7MalaysiaUS$ 0-100%
8OmanUS$ 0-100%
9United Arab EmiratesUS$ 0-100%
10Poland——

Where demand is rising and falling

Only countries that buy at least US$ 1 million or 1% of India’s exports of this product. Change from 2024-25 to 2025-26.

High demand

No sizeable country falls in this list this year.

Low demand

  1. BangladeshUS$ 29.1 mn → US$ 4.3 mn-85.1%

New buyers: Countries that bought nothing from India in 2024-25 and did in 2025-26.

  • Egypt · US$ 1.8 mn
  • France · US$ 1 mn

Which forms sell, and at what price

India’s exports by 8-digit tariff line, 2025-26. Average price = total value ÷ total quantity (TradeStat): the average of every shipment on that line, not the price of any one deal.

Tariff lineValue 2025-26ChangeQuantityAverage price
Cane molses rsltd frm extrctn/rfng of sugr1703 10 00 · Sugars, molasses, from sugar cane, resulting from the extraction or refining of sugarUS$ 4.6 mn+52.8%28,361 tonnesUS$ 0.16 per kgwas US$ 0.13
Molasses (excludinguding cane) edible1703 90 10 · Sugars, molasses, from sugar beet, resulting from the extraction or refining of sugarUS$ 2.6 mn-90%13,204 tonnesUS$ 0.20 per kgwas US$ 0.20
Other mulses other thn edible1703 90 90 · Sugars, molasses, from sugar beet, resulting from the extraction or refining of sugarUS$ 30k0%16 tonnesUS$ 1.90 per kgwas US$ 4.18

The world market

Each country’s own recorded exports and imports in UN Comtrade, 2023 (the latest year nearly every country has reported).

World imports
US$ 1.68 bn
2023
India among exporters
#1
of 103 countries
India’s share of world exports
16.2%
US$ 190 mn
Left for others to win
US$ 978 mn
exported by other countries

Top exporters — your competitors

  1. 1IndiaUS$ 190 mn 16.2%
  2. 2IndonesiaUS$ 141 mn 12%
  3. 3PolandUS$ 101 mn 8.7%
  4. 4GuatemalaUS$ 75.4 mn 6.5%
  5. 5EgyptUS$ 71.3 mn 6.1%
  6. 6GermanyUS$ 59.1 mn 5.1%
  7. 7AustraliaUS$ 59 mn 5%
  8. 8El SalvadorUS$ 42.6 mn 3.6%
  9. 9CanadaUS$ 41.2 mn 3.5%
  10. 10NetherlandsUS$ 39 mn 3.3%

Biggest buyers in the world

  1. 1USAUS$ 297 mn 17.7%
  2. 2PhilippinesUS$ 169 mn 10.1%
  3. 3United KingdomUS$ 165 mn 9.8%
  4. 4Rep. of KoreaUS$ 106 mn 6.3%
  5. 5ItalyUS$ 74.6 mn 4.5%
  6. 6SpainUS$ 66.2 mn 4%
  7. 7NetherlandsUS$ 56 mn 3.3%
  8. 8FranceUS$ 55.8 mn 3.3%
  9. 9TürkiyeUS$ 55.6 mn 3.3%
  10. 10BelgiumUS$ 52.5 mn 3.1%

Opportunity: what these countries buy from the world, and from India

Each country’s own recorded imports in UN Comtrade, latest year it has reported. The long light part of each bar is demand other countries are filling today.

United States of AmericaUS$ 235 mnIndia 0.3% · gap US$ 234 mn
United KingdomUS$ 165 mnIndia 38.6% · gap US$ 101 mn
South KoreaUS$ 100 mnIndia 9.9% · gap US$ 90.3 mn
ItalyUS$ 48.8 mnIndia 5% · gap US$ 46.4 mn
FranceUS$ 45.5 mnIndia 5.9% · gap US$ 42.8 mn
VietnamUS$ 78.9 mnIndia 46.2% · gap US$ 42.4 mn
JapanUS$ 37.1 mnIndia 0% · gap US$ 37.1 mn
NetherlandsUS$ 32.2 mnIndia 0% · gap US$ 32.2 mn
CanadaUS$ 30.3 mnIndia 2.2% · gap US$ 29.6 mn
SpainUS$ 27.2 mnIndia 0% · gap US$ 27.2 mn

TradeStat’s 2023-24 quantities are double-counted, so that year is left out of the price. Sources: TradeStat — Export Import Data Bank, Department of Commerce · UN Comtrade database (United Nations Statistics Division) · Figures taken 29 October 2026.

Step by step

How to export molasses

India produces large volumes of cane molasses, but since the ethanol blending programme most of it goes to domestic distilleries. A 50% export duty from January 2024 nearly stopped exports; it was removed for cane molasses from 14 November 2025. Pakistan, Thailand and Brazil also export molasses. Openings depend on the season’s surplus: feed and yeast buyers in Bangladesh, the Gulf and Europe.

  1. 01Check duty and permits

    Confirm the current export duty on CBIC and get state permits to move molasses.

  2. 02Buy from mills

    Contract molasses from mills before the crushing season ends.

  3. 03Store at port

    Move to a port tank farm; take samples for analysis.

  4. 04Survey and load

    Independent surveyor gauges quantity and samples quality at loading.

  5. 05Agree specification, price and payment

    Put grade, tests, packing, Incoterm (FOB or CIF), shipment period and payment (advance, LC or documents against payment) in a written contract. Cover the buyer with ECGC if you give credit.

  6. 06File the shipping bill and ship

    Your customs broker files the shipping bill on ICEGATE with the invoice and packing list. After customs clearance the line issues the bill of lading; get the certificate of origin from the right agency if the buyer needs a trade-agreement rate.

  7. 07Get paid and close the file

    Send original documents through your bank (or to the buyer if paid in advance). When the money arrives, get the e-BRC and claim RoDTEP and drawback where they apply.

Meet buyers

Trade fairs

Questions

Questions about exporting molasses

Is there still an export duty on molasses?
The 50% duty on cane molasses was removed from 14 Nov 2025 (Customs Notification 48/2025, as reported). Confirm on CBIC.
Why are exports so small?
Most molasses now goes to ethanol in India, and the 2024 duty halted exports for almost two years.
Who buys molasses?
Distilleries, yeast makers and feed blenders; in 2025-26 mainly Bangladesh, Egypt and France (TradeStat).
Do I need an RCMC for a small trial shipment?
Not for a consignment up to ₹3 lakh FOB since 15 Sep 2026 (DGFT Notification 36/2026-27). Registrations that a law requires, such as the Spices Board CRES or Tobacco Board registration, still apply.
What RoDTEP does molasses get?
0.5% of FOB (Appendix 4R).
Sources (4)
  1. CBIC — Customs notifications (tax information portal)
  2. Department of Commerce — TradeStat, India’s exports by commodity and country (2025-26)
  3. DGFT — Appendix 4R, RoDTEP schedule for DTA exports w.e.f. 10 Oct 2024 (Notification No. 32, 30 Sep 2024)
  4. DGFT — Appendix 2T, export promotion councils, boards and the products they cover (as on 6 Feb 2023)

Who buys Indian molasses

All countries →

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