Indian trade body raises sugar output estimate by 4 percent to 26.1 million tonnes

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India is likely to produce 26.1 million tonnes of sugar in the 2017/18 marketing season that started on Oct. 1, up nearly 4 percent from the previous estimate, a trade body said on Thursday, as a good monsoon pushed up cane yields.

This rebound in output to volumes that are near consumption levels could sap demand for imports from the world's biggest consumer of the sweetener, dragging on international prices that are already near their lowest in 3-1/2 months.

The country's consumption is likely to be around 25 million tonnes, giving millers the scope to export surplus, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said.

India imported sugar in 2017 after production fell to 20.3 million tonnes in the 2016/17 marketing year.

(Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)