India enjoys duty-free sugar exports to the U.S. for up to 10,000 tonnes annually under the preferential quota arrangement.
The government on Friday permitted export of 8,424 tonnes of raw or white sugar under tariff-rate quota (TRQ) to the U.S., which enables shipments to enjoy relatively low tariff.
TRQ is a quota for a volume of exports that enter the U.S. at relatively low tariffs. After the quota is reached, a higher tariff applies on additional imports.
"The quantity of 8,424 tonnes of sugar (raw and/or white sugar) to be exported to the US under TRQ scheme from October 1 to September 30, 2022, has been notified," the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in a public notice.
India, the world's second biggest producer and the largest consumer of sugar, has a preferential quota arrangement for sugar export with the European Union as well.
The country's sugar export rose 20% to an all-time high of 7.1 million tonnes in the 2020-21 marketing year ended last month, on the back of better demand and financial assistance from the government.
Sugar exports stood at 5.9 million tonnes in the marketing year 2019-20.
According to ISMA, the sugar production is estimated to remain flat at 31 million tonnes in the marketing year 2021-22.
The total availability of sugar is estimated to touch 39.5 million tonnes, including an opening stock of 8.5 million tonnes of sweetener.