NEW DELHI: After intervention by Agriculture MinisterSharad Pawar and Food Minister K V Thomas, the Commerce Ministry today relaxed conditions for sugar exports by raising the quota to 25,000 tonnes from 10,000 tonnes. 

"The application for issue of registration certificate (RC) can be for an amount up to a maximum quantity of 25,000 tonnes. Earlier this limit was 10,000 tonnes per RC," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in public notice. 

The application for second and subsequent RC can be made after exporting at least 50 per cent of the allotted quantity. 

Earlier in the day, Pawar and Thomas met Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on this issue. 

"Both the Food Ministry and the DGFT have issued separate notifications. There is some confusion. This will be sorted out...The DGFT will issue clarification shortly," Pawar had said yesterday. 

The DGFT also extended the time limit for completing the export orders to 60 days from the date of issuance of RC from the earlier 30 days. 

"An applicant is at liberty to seek split RCs for export through more than one port, within the overall quantity limit of 25,000 tonnes," it added. 

In a notification dated May 14, the DGFT said the export policy for sugar would be 'free' but prior registration of quantity is mandatory. It said that exporters can submit application for RC for up to 10,000 tonnes. 

The notification comes after the Food Ministry issued yesterday a formal order allowing sugar export without any quantitative restrictions. The food ministry had said that mills would not be required to obtain export release order. 

The government had allowed 2 million tonnes of sugar export in the 2011-12 marketing year, before deciding on May 2 to free sugar exports. 

The exports were permitted as the country's sugar output is expected to touch 26 million tonnes in 2011-12, higher than the annual demand of 21.5-22 million tonnes.