Sugar industry wants to Indian tax payers to subsidize foriegn consumers

FE reports

The crisis-ridden Indian sugar industry has appealed to the Centre to provide a slew of sops for enabling it to export 7.5 lakh tonne especially when the global prices are at the rockbottom. The industry has called for reimbursement of expenditure on internal transport (13 paise per quintal per kilometre), ocean freight at Rs 350 per tonne and marketing & handling expenditure at Rs 500 per tonne.

The industry has approached the government as the sugar price has dipped to Rs 1,220 per quintal ex-mill and it stood at $319 (FOB) per tonne in the international market.

Prakash Naik Navre, managing director of Federation of Cooperative Sugar Mills in Maharashtra told FE, “After the announcement of lifting of ban imposed on sugar export, sugar mills have started exploring available export opportunities in the market. However, record sugar production world-wide in general and particularly in India have affected the prices in the global market. Sugar mills have received sugar prices (ex-factory) ranging from Rs 1275-Rs 1330 per quintal during January-February 2007. As the season progresses, prices are sliding on the domestic and export front. Prevailing sugar prices in the market are below the cost of production which is Rs 1,434 per quintal and also lower than the levy price of Rs 1,334 per quintal. Thus the above mentioned sops are quite essential.”