India hikes sugar import duty |
India is likely to raise import duty on sugar to 40 per cent from 25 per cent to check sliding price of the sweetener and enable mills to clear mounting cane arrears of about Rs 20,000 crores. India will also create buffer stock, restructure loans, promote ethanol output, export subsidy on white sugar among others to help solve the current crisis faced by farmers and millers. In August 2014, import duty on both raw and refined sugar was raised to 25 per cent from 15 per cent. The sugar industry is finding difficulty in paying cane price to farmers as mills have been incurring losses for the last few years due to low realization and high cost of production. The government has recently provided a subsidy of Rs 4,000 per tons for the exports of 1.4 million tons of raw sugars to improve cash-flow of millers. The industry body has been demanding that the government give exports subsidy on white sweetener, create buffer stock of 2 million tons and also restructure millers` debt over Rs 36,000 crore.
|
|
|
|