Dispute between India and Brazil over sugar subsidy ends

26-Aug-2024 01:09 PM

New Delhi. Brazil and India are the two largest sugar producing countries in the world. The issue of sugar subsidy was being considered between them on the platform of World Trade Organization (WTO), which has now ended.

The Brazilian Ambassador to India has said that both the countries are strengthening mutual cooperation in ethanol production technology and in this way both have ended the ongoing trade dispute on sugar subsidy in WTO.

According to the Ambassador, bilateral relations between the two countries have become so good and strong in many areas that now mutual dialogue has been started focusing on ethanol.

This is a good way to reduce the global surplus stock of sugar. Due to this surplus production and stock, there is pressure on the prices of sugar.

It is worth mentioning that to strengthen its energy security, Brazil had started the program of mixing ethanol in petrol in the year 1975 itself. Now it has offered to provide technical assistance to India in this direction.

When the G20 countries conference was held in India in September 2023, India launched the 'Global Biofuel' Alliance with the aim of increasing the production and use of biofuel.

Brazil can play a very important role in this because the biofuel manufacturing industry there is quite developed.

It is worth noting that in the year 2019, Brazil, Australia and Guatemala had filed a petition (application) in the World Trade Organization saying that in India, farmers are given a fair and remunerative price (FRP) of sugarcane which does not match with the global trade rules.

To this, India had replied that neither the Center nor the states purchase sugarcane from farmers at the government level, the entire quantity of sugarcane is purchased by private sector sugar mills at FRP.