Centre allows duty-free import of 500,000 tonnes raw sugar (Lead)

New Delhi, April 5 :  The central government on Wednesday allowed duty free import of 500,000 tonnes of raw sugar following the estimates of domestic production this year being the lowest in the last seven years.

"In order to address regional production gaps and also to maintain domestic prices at reasonable levels, it has been decided by the government to allow import of a restricted quantity of only 5,00,000 (metric) tonnes of raw sugar at zero duty through open general license," a release quoted Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan as saying.

At present, import duty on sugar is 40 per cent.

The minister said the import will be allowed with zonal quantity restrictions and will be open for only millers and refiners, who have their own refining capacity.

"Considering the quantity of sugar available as opening stocks and the production in the current sugar season, it is estimated that there is adequate quantity of sugar available in the country for domestic consumption," the minister added.

As per the sugar industry's latest estimates, the sugar output ranges between 19.7-20.3 million tonnes this year (October 2016-September 2017), which is almost five million tonnes lower than last year.