The Hindu Business Line : Lower free-sale sugar quota for April-June quarter

THE Government has lowered free-sale sugar quota to 38 lakh tonnes for the April-June quarter against 45 lakh tonnes for the same period last year, an official statement said on Thursday.

With a levy quota of 2.16 lakh tonnes released for each month during the period, the total availability of sugar for the quarter will be 44.48 lakh tonnes. The allocation is the same as the 38 lakh tonnes released for January-March.

The free-sale quota is the aggregate quantity of sugar that mills can sell in the open market during the given quarter. The total domestic availability of sugar for January-March was 40.50 lt. However, the Government has not announced separate month-wise quota.

Free-sale quota for April is expected to be around 12 lakh tonnes, trade sources said.

"The Government has released lower free-sale quota for summer months. As a result, spot prices have gone up by Rs 20 per quintal on Thursday at the wholesale level," a trader said.

"Prices may rule steady as supply is comfortable at the moment. About 1.5 lakh tonnes of current month's quota is still unsold," he said.

With enough stocks in hand, the Government would not hesitate in releasing further quantities, if required, an official statement said.

The Government released higher free-sale quota of 45 lakh tonnes for the second quarter of 2004 because of the Lok Sabha elections. For April 2004, it released a total of 14 lakhtonnes. With a levy quota of 2.16 lakh tonnes for the three months, the total availability was 16.16 lakh tonnes. For that quarter, total availability of sugar was 51.48 lakh tonnes.

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