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The Government today released 4 lakh tonnes additional sugar in the open market to control its retail prices that have increased by Rs 5 a kg in the past one month.
“The additional quantity of 4 lakh tonnes has been released from the production stock to be sold and delivered/dispatched for August,” an official release said.
With this additional allocation, the total sugar availability in the current quarter ending September will be 51.66 lakh tonnes, it said.
The government has cautioned mills that if they fail to sell the entire additional quota in the current month, then the unsold sugar will be converted for use in Public Distribution System, it added.
The sugar sector is controlled by the government. The quantity of sugar that mills should sell in the open market and through ration shops is decided by the Food Ministry.
The Food Ministry has been releasing additional sugar for sale in the open market to contain retail prices, which have risen by Rs 5 a kg in the last one month to Rs 39-40 a kg in the national capital.
Sugar prices are rising on apprehension that there would be a fall in sugar production in the 2012—13 marketing year starting October 2012 due to poor rains, market experts said.
The country’s sugar production is estimated at 26 million tonnes in 2011-12 marketing year (October-September) against the annual demand of 22 million tonnes.
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