The government On Thursday announced stock and turnover limit on sugar, stipulating the maximum quantity a trader could keep while giving flexibility to the state governments to enhance the limits.
The turnover limit will be 30 days from the date of receipt of stocks by a recognised dealer. This means sugar stock needs to be sold within 30 days of it landing in the dealer’s godown. The stock holding limit is 1,000 tonnes for traders in Kolkata and 200 tonnes for rest of the country, said a government release. Sugar importers under open general licence are kept out of the ambit of the order.
The order, however, will be implemented 15 days after it is notified and will be valid for four months from the date of notification. On February 23, the Union cabinet approved the imposition of stock and turnover limits in sugar to check the price rise and augment supplies. Other than sugar, stock-holding limit is applicable in rice, wheat, pulses and edible oils.
Retail sugar prices have jumped by 25 per cent in the past six months to Rs 25 a kg. Sugar output in the 2008-09 season (October-September) is likely to touch a four-year low of 16 million tonnes owing to a sharp decline in sugarcane acreage. The government, which is set to face parliamentary elections, is concerned over the price rise since sugar has a weightage of 3.62 per cent in the wholesale price index used to measure inflation.