Government monitoring sugar sales in open market to curb price rise

NEW DELHI: To check rise in sugar prices during the festival season, the government today said it is keeping a close watch on sugar sales by millers in the open market and warned against failure to sell the entire quota allocated to them for the October-November period.

Sugar sector is controlled by the government right from the production to distribution. The Food Ministry fixes the quantity of sugar that mills would sell every month in the open market.

For October-November period, the ministry has allocated a total 40 lakh tonnes of sugar (known as non-levy) to 380 odd millers for sale in the open market.

In an official release, the Food Ministry said it would keep a close watch on sale and delivery of sugar meant for open market.

"Any action on the part of the sugar mills which is contrary to the spirit of the Release order would be dealt with swiftly and strongly," it said.

The warning comes in the backdrop of "an impression created by some circles that sugar released by the government for sale in the open market for October and November would get extended suo motu".

"Sugar mills are advised to not to act on presumptions and are forewarned that any action on part of sugar mills to curtail the sale and delivery of non-levy sugar released for sale in the market during October-November, may lead to immediate conversion of unsold and undelivered quantity of non-levy stock into levy stock," the release said.

Sugar production in the country was 26 million tonnes in the 2011-12 marketing year (October-September), higher than the annual demand of 22 million tonnes.