Undertake sugar shipment as per fixed quota: Govt to mills

New Delhi: Expressing concerns over slow pace of sugar export, the government Friday directed mills to undertake shipment of their fixed quota and even threatened to take action against defaulting sugar mills.

To liquidate surplus stock and improve the liquidity of the sugar mills to facilitate them for clearance of cane price arrears of farmers, the government has asked domestic sugar mills to mandatory export 5 million tonnes in the 2018-19 marketing year. The government is even compensating expenses towards internal transport, freight, handling and other charges to undertake shipment.

"However, it has been observed that the sugar mills are not undertaking export of sugar at a desired pace. Only about 2.46 lakh tonne of sugar has been exported and contracts of only about 6 lakh tonne (including 2.46 lakh tonne of actual export) in the first quarter of the season," the food ministry said.

The central government has taken a very serious view regarding non-compliance of the directives of the government by most of the sugar mills, it said. "All the sugar mills have been once again advised to undertake export of sugar as per their allocated quotas failing which appropriate action would be initiated against the defaulting sugar mills," the ministry said.