Sugar mills asked to export speedily to make early payment to farmers

The government on Saturday gave nod to export of six million tonnes of sugar for the first tranche of the marketing year 2022-23, and asked the mills to speed up their exports to make early payments to farmers. The development comes amid expectation that the Centre would allow 8-9 million tonnes of exports in two tranches.

According to a report by Reuters, industry officials had expected the government to allow 5-6 million tonnes in the first tranche and another 2-3 million tonnes in the second.

The government said production of sugarcane in the country will be reviewed periodically basis which the amount of exports could be reconsidered.

By allowing sugar exports, the government said it has protected the interest of both cane farmers and sugar mills. The mills will be able to benefit from favourable international sugar prices and make timely dues to farmers in the current year, it said.

India is the world's largest producer of sugar, and the second largest exporter.

In the sugar season of 2021-22, India's exports of the sweetener stood at a record 11 million tonnes, garnering about Rs 40,000 crore worth of foreign exchange.

Timely payment and a low carrying cost of stocks for sugar mills led to early clearance of arrears owed to farmers for sugarcane, according to the official release.

The government said it has taken multiple steps in the past six years that have enabled sugar mills to become self-sufficient.