New Delhi: India on Wednesday announced a Rs 6,268-crore financial support for the export of 6 million tonnes of sugar for the 2019-20 marketing year.
The subsidy would help liquidate surplus sugar stocks and clear pending sugarcane dues to farmers.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal.
“We have taken an important decision in the interest of sugarcane farmers. The cabinet has approved export subsidy for 6 million tonnes for 2019-20,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters after the cabinet meeting.
A lump sum export subsidy of Rs 10,448 per tonne will be given to sugar mills in the 2019-20 marketing year (October-September), costing the exchequer Rs 6,268 crore as subsidy, he said.
This will benefit millions of farmers in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka as well as other states, he added.
The government is providing subsidy for export of 5 million tonnes of sugar for the current 2018-19 marketing year. (With agency inputs)