He said exports for the 1998/99 year reached about 4,50,000 tonnes, against a government limit of 5,00,000 tonnes. The spokesman said the government was expected to raise the export limit by up to 2,00,000 tonnes, after stocks reached 1.24 million tonnes at the end of February.

A total of four million tonnes of sugar was estimated to be available for the season, including carryover stocks of 4,13,000 tonnes. Domestic demand and requirements for Afghanistan were estimated at three million tonnes, while a buffer stock of 300,000 tonnes would be set aside for next season.Pakistan's sugarcane output is officially projected at 55 million tonnes in 1998/99, up from 53.1 milliontonnes in 1997/98.

But industry officials said a lower recovery rate from the cane would keep sugar production at around last year's level of 3.5 million tonnes.Pakistani mills have crushed more than 30.63 million tonnes of sugarcane and produced 2.43 million tonnes of sugar since the start of 1998 crushing season in October.

However, a report last month by the agriculture attache of the US embassy in Islamabad said the 1998/99 export estimate has been reduced to 6,50,000 tonnes, mainly due to the drop in world prices, making it difficult for Pakistani exporters.

Early in the season, Pakistan's export prices averaged $235-240 per tonne (FOB Karachi) but have since declined to $220 per tonne, the report said.India was the main destination for Pakistani exports until it imposed a 30-per cent duty to protect its own industry early in the year.Refined sugar exports through February were estimated by the attache as follows: India, 240,000 tonnes; Indonesia, 1,50,000 tonnes; Tanzania, 50,000 tonnes; and UAE,10,000 tonnes.

Meanwhile, according to another report, Indonesia's refined sugar stocks are nearing one million tonnes as of April, enough to meet local demand in the next few months, government and trade sources said.

"The local market is flooded with sugar and I don't think Indonesia needs to import more sugar for the time being. Bulog (commodity regulator) still holds 693,618 tonnes and another 300,000 tonnes are in the hands of crushers," an official with the Indonesian Sugar Council told Reuters."The crushing season will start some time in April and we haven'T calculated the stocks owned by private importers yet."

The local market is saturated while local consumption has fallen during the economic crisis. The present stocks will be sufficient to meet local demand until July," he said.

The official Indonesia was expected to import 1.5 million tonnes of sugar in 1999, much lower than the typical 2.2 million tonnes in normal conditions.Traders said private traders have bought between 100,000 and250,000 tonnes of raw sugar since last August, mostly from Thailand.

They said traders bought after the Bulog commodity regulator held a tender to buy 516,000 tonnes of white and raw sugar last August.

Bulog bought 106,000 tonnes of white, 175,000 tonnes of high polarisation raw and 235,000 tonnes of raw sugar in the tender.

Trade sources said in Bangkok that Indonesia had been the most active in the local sugar market, but the size of its purchases was far too small to boost market sentiment.

The sugar official said Indonesia produced 1.5 million tonnes of white and raw sugar in 1998, which was 30 per cent lower than in the previous year."We haven'T made any estimation about this year's production, but for sure monthly consumption has fallen to below 200,000 tonnes from the normal 250,000 tonnes because of the economic crisis," he said.

Indonesia's economic crisis triggered rising prices of essentials, including rice, cooking oil and sugar. Trade sources said many Indonesian have reduced theirsugar consumption by not using it when drinking coffee and tea.An official with PT Bermis Madu Sejati, the country's only sugar refiner, said the company planned to buy 15,000 tonnes of raw sugar in June/July."We last bought raw sugar from Thailand in January, totalling 12,000 tonnes. We don't know yet the origins of the raw sugar we are going to buy in July," he said.

The company has an annual capacity of between 150,000 and 160,000 tonnes. The company was temporarily closed in December 1997 because of the crisis.