Subsidy in Sugar

Brazil, Columbia, Australia and the European Union raised the issue of the incentive provided by the Government of India to the sugar sector in the meetings of the Committee on Agriculture of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held in March and June 2014. These countries sought information on various aspects of the scheme.

The scheme provides an incentive on marketing and promotion services of raw sugar production which will be reviewed before the commencement of the next sugar season 2014-15.

India has been questioned in the WTO’s Committee on Agriculture but no penal action has been initiated. India explained in the WTO that the aim of the government intervention is to facilitate payments of outstanding arrears to farmers by the sugar mills and product diversification by incentivizing raw sugar production.

The information was given by the Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in Lok Sabha.