Sugar stocks today fell sharply by up to 10 per cent after the government imposed 20 per cent customs duty on sugar exports.
Oudh Sugar Mills tumbled 9.63 per cent, Dwarikesh Sugar plunged 6.15 per cent and Bajaj Hindusthan slumped 5.5 per cent on BSE.
Among others, shares of Shree Renuka Sugars dipped 4.95 per cent and Balrampur Chini Mills slipped 3.3 per cent.
Government yesterday imposed 20 per cent customs duty on sugar exports to boost domestic supply and check prices which are ruling high at Rs 40/kg.
The move comes at a time when prices have surged sharply in various commodities including tomato, wheat and pulses.
"To keep the domestic prices of sugar under check, the government has decided to impose export duty of 20 per cent on raw sugar, white or refined sugar," the Finance Ministry had said in a release yesterday.
The duty has been imposed to restrict exports following sharp rise in global prices. The duty is, however, lower than 25 per cent proposed by the Food Ministry.
India, the world's second largest sugar producer after Brazil, has exported 1.6 million tonnes of sugar so far in the 2015-16 marketing year (October-September).
