Govt allows export of 1,146 tonnes of sugar to US

The Dollar Business Bureau

The Government on Wednesday approved the export order of additional 1,146 tonnes of raw sugar to the United States under the tariff rate quota (TRQ), which entitles exporters to enjoy low tariff on shipments.

An official statement from the DGFT said, "Additional quantity of 1,146 tonnes of raw cane sugar to be exported to the US under TRQ up to September 30 has been notified.”

The DGFT said the move would increase the quantity of exports of sugar to the US under TRQ during fiscal 2016-17.

TRQ is a quota for volume of exports that enters the US at low tariffs. When the quota is full, a higher tariff is applicable on extra imports. 

Last week, the government had imposed a 20 percent duty on sugar exports to curb outbound shipments and maintain local supply.

The decision comes at a time when domestic food prices have increased sharply on certain food items including pulses, wheat and tomato.

India exported about 1.6 million tonnes of sugar in marketing year 2015-16 (October 2014-September 2015).

Sugar production in India, the world's second largest producer after Brazil, is expected to decline to 25 million tonnes from 28.3 million tonnes this year. The annual domestic demand is pegged at 26 million tonnes. 

Domestic sugar production has been marred by droughts in main sugar-growing states including Maharashtra and Karnataka. Its production is expected to fall to 23-24 million tonnes next year. This year, overall production of sugar is expected to surge by about 7 million tonnes, thereby taking the total domestic availability to 30-31 million tonnes.