Sugar sector eyes relief package from Centre amid Covid-19 headwinds

Amid the Covid-19 headwinds, the domestic sugar sector is expecting some relief from the Centre in the form of a package to deal with the multipronged challenges of muted demand, cash flow bottlenecks and the minimum selling price (MSP) cap of Rs 31/kg.

The sugar industry has estimated consumption to fall by 0.5 million tonnes (MT) in the current season owing to the lockdown and the steep fall in institutional sales of sugar.

Several state governments, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka, have also written to the central government recommending an upward revision of the sugar MSP from Rs