The Food Ministry has cleared export of 4.33 lakh tonnes of sugar out of five lakh tonnes quantity the government had cleared in June. The government had notified export of 5 lakh tonnes of sugar under Open General Licence last month. According to the latest official data, the Ministry has issued export release order to mills for 4 lakh 33 thousand tonnes of sugar till August 8. Sugar production in India is pegged at 24.2 million tonnes this year against around 19 million tonnes in last year. The annual domestic demand is 21-21.5 million tonnes.