Sugar Import Duty Hiked to 25 Per Cent

The government on Friday hiked sugar import duty to 25 per cent from 15 per cent. Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ram Vilas Paswan in June had said that there was a proposal to hike sugar import duty to 40 per cent, but there were apprehensions that the move would lead to increase in rate of sugar by Rs 4 to Rs 5 per kg.

However, Sakthi Sugar told NDTV that the hike is not likely to be of much impact, as there is an oversupply in the market. There is ample amount of sugar for the upcoming festive season , Sakthi Sugar said.

The Sakthi Sugar stock was up 4.77 per cent on the NSE at 12:53 pm, outperforming the broader Sensex and the Nifty.

Most sugar company stocks were up, after the news of the import duty hike. Balrampur Chini was up 2.64 per cent while Bajaj Hindustan was up 4.42 per cent.

The import duty hike is an attempt to support local mills struggling to make sugarcane payments. The hike will make imports unviable for port-based refiners despite a plunge in global prices due to ample supplies from Brazil and Thailand.

Indian Sugar Mills Association or ISMA pegged the sugar surplus at 2.5 million tonne till now this year.

(With agency inputs)