New Delhi, Jul 9 (IANS): India Tuesday hiked the import duty on sugar to 15 percent from 10 percent to curb import sugar whose price has fallen considerably in the international market.

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in a notification said the import duty on both raw and white (refined) sugar will now be 15 percent.

The government's move came after increasing pressure from the industry associations, especially the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories (NFCSF).

Sugar price has gone down sharply in the world markets due to a bumper crop in Brazil.

The imports have been putting pressure on domestic prices and have prevented millers from clearing cane arrears to farmers.

A group of ministers that includes Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Food Minister K. V. Thomas, had given the green signal for the hike in duty during a meeting held July 4.

After the meeting, Thomas said the decision was taken to help the industry in clearing outstanding payments to sugarcane farmers, which have risen to Rs.9,000 crore from Rs.5,000 crore in the last one year.