Considering the 107 lakh metric tonne surplus sugar of previous season on October 1, 2019, the start of current sugar season 2019-20, the government has approved a scheme for sugar export by providing a lump sum export subsidy at the rate of Rs.10,448 per metric tonne towards expenses on marketing costs including handling, upgrading and other processing costs and costs of international and internal transport and freight charges on export. The total expenditure in this regard would be about Rs.6,268 crore.
The Central government has notified a scheme on September 12, 2019 for evacuation of surplus stock of sugar from the country. Under this scheme, Maximum Admissible Export Quantity (MAEQ) of 60 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) has been fixed among sugar mills for export during the current sugar season 2019-20, Minister of State Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Danve Raosaheb Dadarao in Lok Sabha Tuesday.
In order to ensure that the assistance is directly credited into the accounts of farmers, the sugar mill shall open a separate no-lien account in a nationalised bank/cooperative bank and furnish to that bank the list of farmers along with bank account details and extent of sugarcane price dues payable to the farmers for the sugar season 2019-20 and cane price arrears of previous sugar seasons, duly certified by the Cane Commissioner or Director of Sugar of the state concerned. The bank shall credit the amount of assistance to the farmers’ accounts on behalf of the mills against cane dues payable and subsequent balance, if any, shall be credited into mill’s account, the minister further said in the parliament.
To encourage sugar industry to start exploring possibility of export of sugar, the customs duty on export of sugar has been withdrawn w.e.f. March 20, 2018, the minister added.
According to Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), on October 1, 2019, the start of current sugar season 2019-20, there was 107 lakh tonnes of surplus sugar of previous sugar season, stocked with the sugar mills in the country.