ISMA president Shishir Bajaj said it was unfortunate that imports were benefiting the multinationals and the sugarcane and the sugar beet farmers of foreign countries at the cost of the 40 million Indian farmers, the Indian sugar industry and ultimately the consumer.

``Hence it is essential that a minimum of 25 per cent duty is immediately imposed in addition to the existing countervailing duty on the import of sugar for halting these unwarranted imports which is ruining this large agro-based industry,'' Bajaj said.

He said that Pakistan has 35 per cent duty while it is 66 per cent in Sri Lanka, 104 per cent in Thailand, 124 per cent in South Africa, 133 per cent in Phillipines, 155 per cent in USA,200 per cent in Bangladesh and 200 per cent in European Union. "India, unfortunately, has the lowest import duty in the world, hardly 12 per cent which is resulting in the dumping of sugar in the country," he said.

Bajaj said that under the World Trade Organisation norms, India can impose a duty of upto 150 per cent and added that India does not need any imported sugar as the country will have an estimated sugar stock of 5.5 million tonnes on October 1 against a normal requirement of three months consumption of 3.5 million tonnes of sugar.

Bajaj said that India will have an excess stock of 2 million tonnes. Sugar production and consumption next year have been estimated at 15 million tonnes each and reiterated that India does not need to import any sugar for the next year also.

He said that it was unfortunate that 12 lakh tonnes of sugar has already been contracted with APEDA and 7.5 lakh tonnes of sugar has already landed at Indian ports. Of this 5.5 lakh tonnes have been contracted by Pakistan which isdumping sugar into India by giving a subsidy of Rs 4,000 per tonne. "In fact, the government has already drained out Rs 1,200 crore of precious foreign exchange by way of imports which were not at all necessary,'' he viewed.

Bajaj said the European Union was today producing sugar at $800 per tonne and dumping into India at $265 a tonne. "Imported sugar should be subjected to similar regulations on storage, stock limits on wholesale trade sales and distribution as applicable to free sale sugar, without which this biggest agro-based industry is in danger of being wiped out," he added.

Bajaj welcomed the centre's decision to delicense the sugar industry and added it will lead to the vertical growth of the industry. He, however, requested the centre to reconsider its decision to reduce the distance between two factories to 15 km from the existing 25 km as suggested by the Mahajan committee.

Bajaj demanded that the centre should immediately implement the Mahajan committee report on sugar industry which hasbeen submitted to the government four months ago. He stressed the need for phasewise decontrol of sugar with 80:20 free/levy ratio in 1998-99 and a complete decontrol from 1999-2000.