Centre facilitates export of surplus sugar to ensure timely payment of cane dues

The Government of India is taking proactive measures to boost the export of surplus sugar and diversion of sugar to ethanol to ensure timely payment of cane dues of sugarcane farmers and to boost the agricultural economy. The government has been encouraging sugar mills to divert surplus sugar to ethanol and has been providing financial assistance to sugar mills to facilitate the export of sugar, thereby improving their liquidity, enabling the farmers to make timely payments of cane price dues of sugarcane farmers. In the last three sugar seasons, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 201920, about 6.2 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT), 38 LMT and 59.60 LMT of sugar has been exported. In the current sugar season 202021 (October – September), the government is providing assistance of Rs 6000/MT to facilitate the export of 60 LMT of sugar. Against the export target of 60 LMT, contracts of about 70 LMT have been signed, more than 60 LMT has been lifted from sugar mills and more than 55 LMT has been physically exported from the country, as of August 16, 2021.