Govt may decide on more sugar exports in early February

The government is likely to consider allowing further exports of sugar in the first week of February, as well as review the onion export situation.

An Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Food is expected to meet on February 7 to deliberate over these issues, sources said.

In order to improve liquidity, the sugar industry has been demanding the export of an additional two million tonnes of sugar in the 2011-12 season (October-September).

The government has permitted the export of one million tonnes of sugar this season in view of higher domestic production. The Food Ministry has so far issued export permits for about 5,00,000 tonne.

Sugar production in India, the world's second-largest producer and biggest consumer, is estimated at 24.5 million tonne this season, as against annual demand of 21.5 million tonne.

However, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has pegged sugar output at 26 million tonne in 2011-12, as against 24.2 million tonne in the previous season.

The country exported 2.6 million tonnes of sugar in the 2010-11 season.

Apart from sugar exports, the EGoM may review the export situation of onion and its minimum export price (MEP).

Early this month, the government slashed the MEP to boost exports. The MEP of onion was reduced to $150 per tonne from $250 per tonne, barring premium varieties Bangalore Rose and Krishnapuram, whose export price was brought down by $50 to $250 per tonne.

Onion exports from India declined by nearly 23% to 1.03 million tonne in the first nine months of the current fiscal vis-a-vis the year-ago period, mainly due to the higher MEP.

India, the second-largest producer of onions in the world after China, exported 1.34 million tonnes of onions last fiscal.

The country's onion production is estimated at 15.13 million tonne in the 2011-12 crop year (July-June).