Spiralling prices of sugar dominated the meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance on Tuesday. With members seeking clear answers to their queries over export and import of sugar, senior officials assured them of a written response later. The meeting was presided by chairman of the committee Murli Manohar Joshi.

Sources disclosed that members of the committee sought to know why did the government allow import of sugar soon after permitting export. They pointed out that barely three months after the country was exporting sugar at lower rates, government agencies were told to import both raw and processed sugar at zero tax early this year to improve supplies and rein in domestic prices. Obviously, the imported sugar cost government agencies — STC, PEC, MMTC and NAFED — much more.

India is the world’s largest consu-mer of sugar and ranks only next to Brazil in its production.