A decision has been reached to halt the importation of brown sugar, the State Ministry of Development of Sugarcane, Maize, Cashew, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cloves, Betel Production and Promotion of Allied Products and Export states.
The annual sugar requirement of the country stands at 600,000 metric tons, while 120,000 metric tons of the total requirement is brown sugar, State Minister Janaka Wakkumbura noted.
The State Minister thereby pointed out that through this measure, the government expects to reduce the annual cost for sugar importation, which stands at Rs. 40 billion.