The government is likely to allow sugar mills to export their Maximum Admissible Export Quantity for 2019-20 (Oct-Sep) till the end of this year, a senior government official said today.
"…because of floods in Kandla and Mundra ports, exports had slowed down… due to which time for sugar exports under MAEQ (Maximum Admissible Export Quantity) is being extended," the official told Cogencis.
The move is likely to help India achieve its target of 6 mln tn of sugar exports. The Centre is offering total subsidy of 10.45 rupees on every kg of sugar exported, and has decided to give assistance even if mills export half their allotted quota.
So far, Indian sugar mills have signed export deals for 5.7-5.8 mln tn and actually exported 5.5 mln tn, data from Indian Sugar Mills Association showed.
"The performance on the export front of sugar has been the best ever in the history of Indian sugar industry," an industry source said.
In the previous season, too, the government had extended the time for mills to export sugar by three months, and was providing subsidy on 5 mln tn of sugar.
The Centre is also likely to extend the duration of submission of bank realisation certificate by mills for exports to 180 days from the current 90 days, the official said.
For 2020-21, the food ministry is mulling a subsidy scheme for up to 6 mln tn of sugar exports. This comes after the finance ministry in June asked other departments to avoid seeking approval for any new schemes for the current financial year.
Today, the food ministry sent an internal note on the export subsidy scheme for next year to other ministries for comments.
With the onset of the new sugar season just two weeks away, the industry is anxious about the sugar export policy that the government has in mind for 2020-21. End