Edible oil and oilseeds are likely to become costlier by 4-5 per cent due to the government decision to raise import duty on crude and refined oil, with immediate effect.
Govt hikes import duty on crude, refined palm oil.
Crude palm oil to 15 per cent from 7.5 per cent. Refined to 25 per cent from 15 per cent. Soya and sunflower have been raised to 17.5 per cent from 12.5 per cent. The hike in import duty of crude and refined palm oil will help restrict cheaper imports from Malaysia and Indonesia and benefit farmers which are in distress due to fall in prices of oilseeds below minimum support price because of bumper production.
Brazil produces record amount of sugar in the 2nd half of July.
Brazil center-south region produced 3.41 million tonnes of sugar in the second half of July, the most for a 15-day period, as very dry weather allowed mills to work around the clock in the world largest cane belt. Mills allocated 50.33 percent of the cane to sugar production in the second half of July, versus 48.05 percent a year earlier.
Pakistan banks asked to start sugar export process.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has asked authorised dealers (banks) to start processing applications for sugar exports. The SBP issued a circular that the process begins as per the instruction given by the Ministry of Commerce on July 2 for the export of 300,000 tonnes of sugar. Sugar mills are not satisfied with the limit of 300,000 tonnes set by the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet. They claim there is a glut-like situation in the domestic market. They demand that the limit on the export volume of sugar should be enhanced. Sugar prices recently increased in the domestic market as some parts of the country suffered shortages of the commodity. The SBP advised the authorised dealers to forward the requests of sugar mills to the director of the central bank Foreign Exchange Operations Department (FEOD) for approval.
India no plans for duty-free sugar imports.
Food and Consumer Affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan has said that the country has sufficient sugar supply and there was no need to import it.The government was keeping a watch on pulses price and would increase import duty if required.
India Sugar weak conditions were seen at the wholesale sugar.
Weak conditions were seen at the wholesale sugar market in the national capital during the week with prices falling on persistent supplies from mills amid expectations of a cut in import duty by the government to improve availability in the market to meet festive season demand and curb speculative rise.
Southern Maharashtra Sugar mills not able to start operations before Diwali.
Sugar mills from southern Maharashtra may not be able to start operations before Diwali, even as the industry and government are preparing for advance sugarcane crushing operations by a month to October to tide over any shortages during the festival season. Mills in the region comprising Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur account for the biggest share in sugar production of Maharashtra, the leading producer in the country. Region gets a few spells of heavy rainfall around Dussehra (which falls on September 30), which makes harvesting difficult due to wet fields. The migrating harvesting labour does not start from their villages before Diwali. Thus, mills from Kolhapur will begin crushing only after Diwali (October 19).