India might consider white sugar export incentive

India might consider giving cash-strapped sugar companies an incentive to export white, or refined, sugar as long as mills agree to pay the dues they owe to millions of cane growers, India's Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said yesterday.

Five straight years of surplus output has hammered local sugar prices, hitting mills' financial health to an extent that they now owe more than $3 billion to cane growers.

Paying off those arrears would help put money in the pockets of farmers who have suffered crop damage due to untimely rains and hail storms, and lost income as a result of falling world commodity prices.

"Farmers have been hit hard by unseasonal rains in the past few weeks. The payment cannot be better timed, as it will help tide them over the crisis," Paswan said.

On Wednesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to raise farmers' compensation as part of efforts to calm rising anger against his government.

"The government is willing to consider the demand of the industry so that mills' finan-cials do not worsen but we need an assurance that cane arrears to farmers are cleared as early as possible," Paswan told Reuters.