Cabinet Approves Rs 3.5 billion Sugar Export Subsidy

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday approved a grant from Rs 3,500 crore to sugar mills for export of 60 lakh tons of sweetener during the current 2020-21 business year as part of their efforts to help them pay outstanding fees from sugar cane farmers.
Reporting to the media after the meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a 3.5 billion rupee subsidy on exports of 60 lakh tonnes of sweetener and the amount of the subsidy will be delivered directly to the farmers.

The minister said both “sugar industry just as sugarcane farmers are in crisis “due to the high national production of 310 lakh tonnes compared to the annual demand of 260 lakh tonnes.
The decision will benefit Rs 5 crore farmers, said Javadekar, who is also the Union Minister of the Environment.
In the previous marketing year 2019-20 (October-September), the government provided a lump sum export subsidy of Rs 10,448 per ton, costing the Treasury Rs 6,268 million.
The mills exported 5.7 million tons of sugar compared to the mandatory quota of 6 million tons established for the 2019-20 season (October-September), according to official data.