Sugar imports from Pakistan miniscule: Commerce ministry

India imported just 1,908 tonnes of sugar from Pakistan since April this year, the government said today, rebutting opposition charge that large quantities of the sweetener are being shipped from the neighbouring nation.

Till May 14 in this fiscal, import of sugar from Pakistan is mere 1,908 tonnes for a value of USD 0.657 million.

In 2017-18, sugar import stood at 13,110 tonnes valuing USD 4.68 million, the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), which is under the Commerce Ministry, said.

"Import from Pakistan has been very miniscule as compared to total production in the country and exports from India," the DGFT said.

Sugar production of India, the world's second largest producer, is estimated at record 32 million tonnes in the 2017-18 marketing year (October-September) as against 20.3 million tonnes in the previous year. The annual domestic demand is 25 million tonnes.

The DGFT said that the country exported 1.75 million tonnes of sugar in 2017-18 and 2.4 lakh tonnes so far this fiscal.

In Maharashtra, the Congress party and the NCP have attacked the Union government, claiming that its policy of allowing the import of sugar from neighbouring Pakistan was leading to a crash in its prices in the domestic market.

The Centre has doubled import duty to 100 per cent to curb cheaper shipments. It has also asked millers to export 2 million tonnes of sugar.