India Delays Decision on Refined-Sugar Import Duty (Update1).

 June 25 (Bloomberg) -- India, the biggest sugar buyer, deferred a decision to levy a duty on imports of the refined variety, citing high domestic prices.

A group of ministers, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, met in New Delhi to consider the tax and delayed a decision, a government official told reporters today.

The South Asian nation allowed duty-free imports as prices doubled last year after a dry spell reduced domestic production and excess rain damaged the crop in Brazil, the biggest grower. Purchases by the world’s largest consumer at zero tax may help stem this year’s 34 percent slump in prices of refined sugar.

White, or refined, sugar for October delivery rose as much as 2.6 percent to $480.40 a metric ton in London. Raw-sugar for delivery in October advanced 2.4 percent to 16.19 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Sugar prices at Vashi in Mumbai, the biggest wholesale market for the sweetener, jumped as much as 3.5 percent to 2,649.45 rupees per 100 kilograms today.

India has allowed duty-free imports of white and raw sugar until Dec. 31 to bolster supplies and cool food-price inflation. The Indian Sugar Mills Association, a millers’ group, has been seeking a tax to encourage purchases of domestic supplies that are forecast to increase enough to meet demand.

Sugar stockpiles will jump 53 percent in the year ending Sept. 30, according to the association. The nation will end the season with 4.9 million tons of the sweetener compared with 3.2 million tons a year ago, the producers’ group said on June 14.

India may not need to import as output may increase as much as 30 percent to 24 million tons in the year starting Oct. 1, Vivek Saraogi, managing director at Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd., said last month.

Source : Business Week​