The ban on sugar exports will continue further, the government has decided to extend it beyond October 31. A notification has been issued by DGFT regarding this. The government has taken this decision to ensure the availability of sugar in the domestic market in view of the festivals.
Ban on sugar export continues because…
Raw sugar, white sugar, refined sugar and organic sugar are all included in this ban. However, sugar exports to EU and USA have been excluded from this ban. The ban on everyone else will continue until further orders.
The thing to note here is that this time the government has also included organic sugar in the restrictions, so that sugar cannot be exported in any way. Actually, the demand for sugar in the global market is very high and the prices are sky high, due to which this step had to be taken so that there remains adequate availability of sugar in the country at affordable rates.
It is mandatory to obtain permit from the Food Ministry
According to the restrictions imposed by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, it is mandatory for sugar exporters to obtain prior permit from the Food Ministry. The government had made this provision in the notification issued on October 28 last year, so that the prices of sugar in the country remain under control. The government reviews the stock of sugar from time to time and ensures its adequate availability in the country.
Most experts were already predicting this step of the government. Actually, the world’s largest sugarcane producing country is India. But this time, due to the worst monsoon in five years, the sugarcane crop dried up, due to which it was speculated that the government would ban its export to maintain the availability of sugar in the country. This step will affect China’s global supply globally.
Important decision before elections
This initiative of the Central Government helped in stopping the increase in retail prices of sugar. The central government had initially limited the shipment of sugar to 10 million tonnes. However, later additional shipment of 1.2 million tonnes was allowed. For the 2022-23 season, the government had issued permits for the export of 6.2 million tonnes.
In view of the election year, inflation is a big issue for the government and hence the government is leaving no stone unturned in its efforts to stop inflation.
In view of the possibility of decline in sugarcane production in the current season, higher requirement of ethanol and the election year, this decision of the government is said to be very important to control the prices of sugar in the domestic market.