& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Indian sugar exporters edged out by low prices

REUTERS, New Delhi
Low global prices and a delay in the government's transport subsidy have edged India out of the sugar export market.
Traders said there have been "practically no deals" in the past two months as sugar was being traded globally below $200 a tonne.
India began exporting sugar in August 2000 to cut its stockpile that reached 18.6 million tonnes at the end of March. The country expected big overseas sales last year when whites traded around $250 a tonne.
Traders said the country has exported around 450,000 tonnes of whites since last October compared with 650,000 tonnes sold in the same period of last year. India exported around 1.2 million tonnes of refined whites in the year to October 2001.
Traders said buyers of Indian sugar, mainly Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Middle East, have turned to cheaper sugar from Brazil and Thailand.
Dealers said global sugar prices were not likely to recover in the coming months due to surplus global supplies.
"There is no hope for prices to recover in the near future and we cannot resume exports unless government gives us a subsidy of $20 to $25 a tonne," said S L Jain, Secretary General of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA).
Earlier this year, the government promised transport subsidy to exporters to carry sugar from mills to the ports but legislation on this is pending before the parliament for an approval.
"The government has promised that it will get the bill cleared in the current session of parliament but in the present circumstances (of low prices) even this is not enough," a senior industry official said.
He said exporters need a subsidy of at least $25 a tonne to become profitable at the current international prices. Free transportation from mills to ports will save them only $10.
Millers said the government should extend the transport subsidy to cover shipping charges to export destinations. "This way we will be able to save a total of $25 a tonne and exports will become viable," one exporter said.
India's sugar sector is the second largest farm-based industry after textiles and the government has been under pressure to boost exports and pump life into the beleaguered industry.
India last year took key steps to ease controls on its sugar market by cutting the sugar quota, supplied as levy by mills to the government at controlled rates, to 10 per cent from 30 per cent and allowing futures trading.
The country has also ended all quantitative restrictions on sugar exports and scrapped rules requiring exporters to register with the designated state-run authority.
Indian sugar industry is suffering from high cane prices, fixed by the government and cost of maintaining huge stocks.