Centre defers decision on lifting sugar export ban

NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet on Thursday discussed lifting a ban on sugar exports but did not set a date for such a move, a cabinet minister said.

The country is expected to produce record sugar output in the new season that began in October. 

"The cabinet discussed the issue of lifting a ban on sugar exports but deferred a decision," Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, minister for rural development, told reporters.   

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the government planned to lift the ban on exports in the next fortnight. 

Major sugar stocks on the Mumbai exchange rose in morning trading on Thursday, before the cabinet meeting.

Pawar said sugar production in new season would likely reach 22.7 million tonnes, up from about 19 million tonnes a year ago.

Late last month, a senior government official said that the government was planning to lift the sugar export ban soon and cap exports at 1 million tonnes initially.   

India banned exports in July to help check inflation as prices soared, and said the restriction would last until the end of the financial year in March.

But traders have been clamouring for the ban to be lifted so they can capitalise on favourable global sugar prices.