India to ban sugar exports amid reports of decline in production

KATHMANDU: : According to reports, the Indian government is considering a ban on sugar exports due to a drop in output and to stop inflationary pressures before the Lok Sabha elections the following year.

A group of ministers reportedly recommended that mills stop exporting sugar with “immediate effect.”.

The issue is thought to have been covered by the committee during a meeting on April 27 that also featured Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal. The source claims that the government will soon declare a ban on shipments.

There is currently enough sugar, according to reports citing a government source, to meet the anticipated 275 lakh tonnes of domestic consumption demand. But the government does not want to take any chances before the state elections this year and the Lok Sabha elections the following year. .

Statistics from the Department of Consumer Affairs show that sugar’s average retail price in all of India on Friday was Rs 42.24 per kg, which was a little bit higher than the level from a year earlier when it was Rs 41.31. In contrast to the 359 lakh tonnes produced during the previous crop year, the nation is anticipated to produce 327 lakh tonnes (LT) of sugar during the 2022–23 crop year (October–September).

According to data on sugar exports through April 8, 2023, India has sold up to 6.31 lakh tonnes of sugar to Bangladesh this year. Other significant importers include China, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Afghanistan, Cameroon, and Jordan. Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, and Somalia are others.

A close to two lakh tonnes of sugar have not yet been sent for export, according to official data, despite the fact that the majority of the sugar has already been shipped in accordance with the fixed quota set up for the current year.