Government warns of action against sugar mills over slow exports

Orders to fix quarterly shipment quota and submit progressive report to the Food Ministry or face action

The government has warned mills to speed up sugar exports to achieve the 5 million tonnes annual target fixed for the current season (October 2018 – September 2019).

Despite incentives offered for exports, sugar mills have contracted for a mere 600,000 tonnes of sugar exports and shipped around 179,000 tonnes for the quarter between October and December 2018. Additionally, around 80,000 tonnes of the sweetener is kept at various ports for loading for the quarter ending December 2018. This means, total quantity of export stands at a negligible 260,000 tonnes for the October – December 2018 quarter as against the