The Centre on Thursday ruled out white sugar imports during the 2004-05 financial year, saying sugar stocks were adequate to meet the present demand. ‘‘There is no question of importing white sugar this year,’’ Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar told reporters at the 70th Annual General Meeting of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA). ‘‘The overall domestic stock situation is healthy and there is no need for white sugar imports,’’ he said.Pawar ruled out replacing the statutory minimum price policy with minimum support price and said the Tuteja Committee’s recommendations on reforming the sugar industry were being considered in several ministries, and will be another two months before they approach Cabinet for approval.Raw sugar imports were up this season due to advance licenses being issued, Pawar said, and because of selling in domestic market and export within the stipulated 24 months.Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, who also addressed the AGM, said the sugar industry needs to improve productivity and efficiency if it is to compete globally. ‘‘In some states, the situation of sugar mills is alarming. The challenge is to revitalise this sector so that all the allied agro sectors benefit,’’ Chidambaram said, promising that the Budget will be growth oriented.‘‘The government could not ignore the sugar industry through which it earns Rs 1,400 crore of revenue,’’ he added. The FM said politicians must ensure higher prices to cane growers, while keeping sugar prices low, but also said the sugar mills need to increase efficiency while cane growers must become more productive and ‘‘consistently clock high growth.’’He said the economy itself needed to sustain high growth. ‘‘While India has shown it can grown rapidly, it is China which has shown high growth rates over several years in a row,’’ Chidambaram said.‘‘But (India’s) one or two quarters of high growth do not reflect the growth of the entire year,’’ he said.
