NEW DELHI- Indian mills have contracted to export 5.2 million tonnes of sugar since the current season began on Oct. 1, a leading trade body said on Monday.

Mills have already shipped out 4.5 million tonnes of the sweetener, said Praful Vithalani, president of the All India Sugar Trade Association.

Sugar mills have sold about 2.4 million tonnes of raw sugar and around 2 million tones of refined, or white, sugar to 73 countries, with Iran, Somalia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan the top five buyers.

With the brisk pace of overseas sales, mills are likely to export about 6 million tonnes of sugar in the current 2019-20 season, Vithalani said.

(Reporting by Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Hugh Lawson) ((mayank.bhardwaj@thomsonreuters.com; +91-11-4954 8030; Twitter: @MayankBhardwaj9; Reuters Messaging: mayank.bhardwaj.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))