INDIA: Sugar trade must be decontrolled

At the annual general meeting of The Bombay Sugar Merchants' Association, the president, Mohan Gurnani, announced that future trading of sugar will only be possible after the Indian government completely decontrols the trade, "while retaining the monthly release mechanism and maintaining a comfortable buffer stock."Gurnani revealed that this season would witness a sugar stock carry-over of 99.45 lakh tonnes. Sugar consumption in India this season was up 5 lakh tonnes from the 150 recorded last season, and production had similarly risen to 181.5 lakh tonnes from the 155.41 lakh tonnes of the previous season. He also commented on the need for improvement within the country's infrastructure if 2000-01 export targets of 10 lakh tonnes are to be surpassed. Import duty is currently 60% on sugar, and its price on the international market is US$272 per tonne.