New Delhi: The Centre is set to ban sugar exports amid a drop in production and in order to avoid any inflationary pressures in the run-up to Lok Sabha elections next year, according to a report by The Indian Express. According to the report, a panel of ministers has recommended that the dispatches of sugar by mills for exports be stopped with “immediate effect”.
The committee, that includes Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal is said to have deliberated the matter at a meeting held on April 27. As per the report, the government will soon issue a notification for banning shipments.
A government source told The Indian Express that currently there is enough sugar to meet the estimated domestic consumption demand of 275 lakh tonnes. However, the government does not want to take any risk before the state elections this year and Lok Sabha polls next year.
As per the Department of Consumer Affairs data, the all-India average retail price of sugar at Rs 42.24 per kg on Friday was slightly higher than the level a year back when it was Rs 41.31. The country’s sugar production in the 2022-23 crop year (October-September) is projected at about 327 lakh tonnes (LT), as compared to last previous year’s 359 lakh tonnes.
According to the sugar export data till April 8, 2023, in the current year, maximum 6.31 lakh tonnes of sugar has been exported from India to Bangladesh. Other major importers include Djibouti, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, China, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Afghanistan, Cameroon and Jordan.
Although most of the sugar has already been exported as per the fixed quota set for the current year, about two lakh tonnes of sugar has not yet been dispatched for export, government data shows. The exports may now be affected by the decision of the government.