Government Relaxes Sugar Import Rules to Ease Retail Prices
· Business · Hindustan Times, Zee News
The central government has relaxed a key condition on duty-free imports of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar, granting refiners a rolling two-month window from the bill of entry filing to process and sell shipments in the domestic market. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade issued the notification late Monday to remove logistical bottlenecks for shipments arriving toward the end of October. Under the original rules, all imported raw sugar had to be refined and sold by October 31, a deadline industry bodies found difficult to meet. Trade experts noted the policy change will boost supplies during the early months of the new 2026-27 sugar season and alleviate pressure on retail prices. The Centre permitted duty-free raw sugar imports for the first time in a decade on August 20 after retail prices touched 70 rupees per kilogram in major metro cities.
Why it matters
The import relaxation directly impacts retail food inflation and sugar availability for Indian consumers ahead of the festive season following two decades-low closing stocks.
Read the original report — Hindustan Times
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