• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Harish Damodaran

Proposal to allow exports of up to 10 lakh tonnes

New Delhi , Oct. 29

A Cabinet note proposing lifting of the current ban on sugar exports is likely to be ready by early next week.

The note, to be circulated by the Union Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry, would be taken up at the next meeting of the Union Cabinet.

Export obligation

According to sources, the note proposes to allow exports of up to 10 lakh tonnes (lt), which is over and above the re-export obligation of roughly 11 lt under the advance licence scheme.

The sources told Business Line that the initial idea was to permit exports by only advance licence holders, as the scheme obliges them to ship out one tonne of white (refined) sugar for every 1.05 tonnes of duty-free raw sugar imports resorted to by them in the past.

"The Government wants to open up exports in a phased manner, so as to ensure sufficient domestic availability and avert any pressure on prices.

"The original plan was to allow only advance licence holders to discharge their re-export obligations once the festival season had ended", the sources informed.

But this would have created a situation beneficial to only a handful of companies.

Limited beneficiaries

They include Sakthi Sugars (advance licence export obligation of 2.35 lt); Thiru Arooran Sugars (2.65 lt, including 1.72 lt of its associate, Shree Ambika Sugars).

Sagar Sugars (1.08 lt), Dharani Sugars (one lt); Simbhaoli Sugar Mills (0.75 lt);

Shree Renuka Sugars (0.65 lt); SCM Sugars (0.6 lt); Gayatri Sugars (0.45 lt); Godavari Sugars (0.4 lt);

EID Parry (0.3 lt); Dhampur Sugar (0.16 lt); Mawana Sugars (0.1 lt) and Daurala Sugar (0.04 lt). "Out of the total 11 lt, nearly 10 lt is accounted for by southern mills.

"Extending the export facility to only a section of the industry would, among other things, lead to a secondary market developing in advance licences.

"Since this is not desirable, the Government has now decided to permit an additional 10 lt exports outside of the advance licence scheme", the sources added.

The present ban on sugar exports has been in place since July 4.

More Stories on : Sugar | Exports & Imports | Agricultural Policy

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Rain belt moves north, may linger

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line