In order to check falling prices of sugar in domestic markets and enable mills to clear mounting cane arrears of about Rs 20,000 crore, the government is planning to hike sugar import duty to 40% from the current 25%. In August last year, import duty on both raw and refined sugar was raised to 25% from 15% to bail out the cash-starved sugar industry.
A meeting of informal group of ministers, headed by Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan decided to recommend a hike in import duty of sugar. A consensus also emerged on the issue of creating buffer stock, restructuring of loan, promotion of ethanol output, export subsidy on white sugar among others to help solve the current crisis faced by farmers and millers.
Sugar industry is finding difficulty in paying cane price to farmers as mills have been incurring losses for the last few years due to low realisation and high cost of production.