News

Prices of sugar fell in the key wholesale markets of the country due to sluggish demand from bulk buyers. Prices are sluggish as there is a fear in the market that the government may allow more imports. The government is looking at the possibility of allowing duty-free imports barely weeks after it increased the import duty on sugar to 50% from 40%, as prices have started rising.

The food ministry expects sugar output in 2017-18 (Oct-Sep) at 23.5-24.0 million tonne, much below 25.1 million tonne projected by the Indian Sugar Mills Association. ISMA output projection of 25.1 million tonne is up 23.6% from the estimated 20.3 million tonne produced in 2016-17. Sugar output in Uttar Pradesh may rise to about 9.2-9.3 million tonne in 2017-18, up from 8.8 million tonne produced this year, while in Maharashtra, sugar production may rise to 7.3 million tonne, up from 4.2 million tonne produced in 2016-17.

The government may consider giving millers and refiners more time to export refined sugar under the advance license scheme in a bid to ensure adequate supplies in the domestic market if prices continue to rise in the run-up to Diwali. The government may raise time period from six months to 18 months or two years, depending on when the country has a sugar surplus. For the time being, the move would ensure enough supplies in the market. The advance licence scheme allows import of duty-free raw sugar, but on condition that the refined sugar produced from the imported sweetener will be exported within six months.

The Foreign Agriculture Service of the US Department of Agriculture has allowed export of 160,000 tonne speciality sugar to the US for 2017-18 (Oct-Sep) under the non-country specific tariff rate quota. This would allow export of speciality sugar from traders of all member countries of the World Trade Organisation. As there is stiff competition among suppliers, the quota of speciality sugar fills immediately. Therefore, Indian suppliers are advised to identify a US company with presence in the US who is supposed to apply to USDA for tariff free quota.

The food ministry plan to sell subsidised sugar to the poorest-of-the-poor has run into financial hurdles. The finance ministry has turned down the food ministry request for additional allocation of 3.0 billion rupees for sugar subsidy due to paucity of funds. Under the scheme, the central government provides a subsidy of up to 18.50 rupees a kg to state governments for selling 1 kg of sugar at a fixed price of 13.50 rupees per kg through fair price shops to each of the 20.5 million families covered under the Ana Anna Yojana. The scheme was expected to cost the central exchequer 5.5 billion rupees annually.

Iran can achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production within the next four years provided domestic factories are equipped with up-to-date machinery. A record high of 1.65 million tons of sugar were produced in Iran in the last fiscal year (March 2016-17), which amount is unprecedented in the last 120 years. Iranians consume between 2.2 and 2.4 million tons of sugar a year and last year the import of more than 550,000 tons of the product was needed.