The government is encouraging sugar mills to export surplus sugar and to divert surplus sugarcane/sugar to ethanol
About 70 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT) of sugar has been exported 2020-21 in comparison to 59.60 LMT of sugar export in sugar season 2019-20, which is an increase of 17.45 per cent. This statement was issued by the Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply to Lok Sabha.
Against the estimated domestic consumption of 270 LMT in the current sugar season 2021-22, the sugar production is estimated to be around 308 LMT after discounting the diversion of 35 LMT of sugar to ethanol.
Intending to liquidate surplus sugar stock available with sugar mills thereby improving the liquidity of sugar mills enabling them to make timely payment of cane dues of farmers, the government is encouraging sugar mills to export surplus sugar and to divert surplus sugarcane/sugar to ethanol. In the previous sugar season 2020-21, about 70 LMT of sugar has been exported and approximately 22 LMT of sugar has been diverted to ethanol.
However, to improve the liquidity position of sugar mills including co-operative sugar mills of the country, the Government has been taking various interventions from time to time viz. assisting sugar mills to offset the cost of cane, fixation of Minimum Selling Price of sugar, extended financial assistance to sugar mills for maintenance of buffer stocks, extended financial assistance to sugar mills to facilitate the export of sugar, extended soft loans to sugar mills, etc.
