NEW DELHI: India, the world's biggest sugar consumer, has no plan to lower import duty on the sweetener, at least in the near term, a government official said on Thursday.
Sugar prices in the local market have risen more than 10 percent in a month on an expected drop in production after back-to-back drought-ravaged cane crop in the top-producing western state of Maharashtra.
Traders were speculating that the price increase may force the government to lower import duty.
India's sugar production in 2016/17 is likely to fall to 22 million tonnes, down 4.3 percent from an earlier estimate, as mills in Maharashtra are closing early due to a cane shortage, industry officials told Reuters.