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Indian sugar industry sore over imports from Pakistan

The Indian sugar industry has expressed concern over sugar import from Pakistan when there was ''sufficient stock of sugar in the country''.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, president of the Indian Sugar Mills' Association Shishir Bajaj said that there is no cause for alarm over any shortage of sugar in the country. He charged that dumping of sugar into India by giving subsidy of Rs 4,000 a tonne, the government has already drained out Rs 12 billion precious foreign exchange by the way of imports which were not at all necessary.

Bajaj alleged that the countries exporting sugar to India are taking advantage of the lowest import duty of 12 per cent and urged the government to impose 25 per cent duty on imported sugar to save Indian sugar industry from unnecessary competition.

The ISMA president welcomed the government for the announcement of de-licensing of the sugar industry, but also asked for immediate acceptance of the Mahajan Committee recommendations of phase-wise decontrol of sugar with 80-20 free/levy ratio in the coming year 1998-99 and a complete de-control from the year 1999-2000.

Bajaj also questioned the government's concessions to sugar imports while the domestic industry was being subjected to regulations like levy, custom duty, octroi duty.

Providing details of present sugar stock in the country, Bajaj said that as on October 1, before commencement of the next sugar season, India would have an estimated sugar stock of 5.5 metric tonnes against a normal requirement of three months consumption of 3.5 MT of sugar. ''We will have an excess stock of 2 MT of sugar. Moreover, next year's sugar production and consumption are estimated at 15 MT each and India has no need of any import of sugar,'' he said.

Bajaj cautioned the government that if India continues imports, sugar-producing countries in the European Union will target the country for export of their surplus stuff.

He also advocated total decontrol which he said will bring sugar prices down to below Rs 13 a kilogram level in the free market. He said no incentives should be extended to new units. This will lead to the vertical growth of industry rather than the horizontal growth. It would also lead to mergers and acquisitions in the long run and the number of units would tend to got down from the present 460.

UNI