NEW DELHI, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The Indian government on Friday forecast this year's sugar output at 26 million tonnes, nearly 4 percent lower than the estimates of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), a producers' body.
The food ministry arrived at the 2015/16 output estimate after taking inputs from officials of top cane growing states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Output is likely to fall because of back-to-back drought years for only the fourth time in over a century.
Last month, the ISMA forecast an output of 27 million tonnes, down from 28.3 million tonnes produced in the 2014/15 season. ID:nD8N11801V