India extends restriction on sugar exports by a year

India has extended the restrictions on the export of sugar by one year through October 31, 2023, according to a notification by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

Initially, the restrictions were imposed starting June 1 to October 31, 2022.

However, the restriction is not applicable to the sweetener (raw, refined and white) being exported to European Union and the US under CXL and TRQ quota, the notification put out by DGFT on Friday said.

It added that other conditions such as mandatory permission from the relevant department for exports would remain unchanged.

The idea behind the sugar export restriction -- putting a cap on the export of sugar to 100 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) -- was to make prices of sugar stable, Sudhanshu Pandey, Secretary, of the Department of Food and Public Distribution, had said in May. while imposing the restriction.

The government wants to ensure enough sugar stock availability in India and the export restriction has been purely imposed to safeguard the interests of the domestic supply.

( With inputs from ANI )