The Indian government has extended the ban on sugar export by an additional one year.
According to the Indian media, the ban on sugar will be in place till October 2023. Earlier, the Indian government had imposed the restriction on sugar export for four months starting from June 1, citing the soaring price of sweetener in the domestic market. Apart from sugar, India has also been prohibiting the export of wheat and related products.
The Indian government took the step after exports hit 8.6 million tons in just eight months ending last May, creating pressure on the domestic price of the product, according to the Indian media. The country had exported a total of 7 million tons of sugar last year, while it produced 31.19 million tons of sugar during the period.
Due to the restriction on export by the southern neighbor, the prices of wheat, sugar and rice have escalated by a notable amount in the Nepali market. Although Nepal has been requesting India to lift the restriction on the export of these essentials, the Indian government recently opened the export of paddy and rice to be exported to Nepal, imposing a number of conditions.
In the new rule, India has waived 20 percent export duty on paddy to be exported to Nepal. However, the country has slapped a quota, agreeing to export only up to 600,000 tons of paddy annually.
