New Delhi, Jan 11: In view of high food inflation, the Food Ministry on Tuesday decided to put on hold the export of five lakh tonnes of sugar and referred the matter to an empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on food. "We have decided to refer the issue of sugar export under Open General License (OGL) to the EGOM," a senior food ministry official said.
 The government had allowed export of five lakh tonnes of sugar under OGL on the back of expectations of higher output, but the ministry was yet to issue the release order to mills. The decision to refer the matter of allowing sugar exports to EGOM was taken during a meeting convened by the Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to review the prices.
 Pawar held discussions with ministry officials immediately after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a meeting with senior cabinet ministers to review the price situation.The decision to put sugar exports under hold comes a day after the government decided to exempt sugar imports from customs duty till March 31, 2011.
 Sugar prices, which had touched nearly Rs. 50 per kg in January 2009, has eased to Rs. 32-33 per kg. Sugar production is estimated to be 24.5 million tonnes in the 2010-11 crop year (October-September), against 19 million tonnes last year.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 11 Jan 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:00:00 IST