Curbs on sugar exports to ensure supply during festival season: Govt

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 25

Asserting that the Centre’s priority is to ensure sufficient availability of sugar for consumption at reasonable rate, Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey today justified the decision to cap sugar exports at 10 million tonnes this year, calling it a “timely and precautionary” measure to ensure adequate availability during the festival season in October-November.

• Editorial: Cap on sugar exports

Precautionary measure

It is not a curb, but a timely & precautionary measure. Sugar exports this year are the highest ever. Sudhanshu Pandey, Food Secretary

“The government is committed to stabilise prices of sugar in the domestic market and in the past 12 months, prices of sugar are under control,” Pandey said.

Though the prices of sugar are “more stable” when compared to other commodities, the decision to curb sugar exports was taken to prevent any undue spike in retail prices amid global shortage of the commodity, he added. The Food Secretary said sugar exports had risen sharply from about 50,000 tonnes in 2016-17 to 10 million tonnes this year.

“It is not a curb. Sugar exports this year are highest ever. Already 9 MT have been contracted of which 7.5 MT have been exported,” he said.

Sharp rise in exports

50,000 tonnes sugar exports in 2016-17

10 million tonnes sugar exports in 2022

Rs 32-33 ex-mill price per kg

Rs 33-44 retail price per kg

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