MP sugar traders discontinue imports from Maharashtra

To protest against bureaucratic harassment and the alleged control on the movement of sugar, wholesale traders in Madhya Pradesh will discontinue importing sugar from Maharashtra from today.

This may escalate prices, trigger shortage and panic buying among consumers as retailers have limited stock now ahead of Diwali.

Yesterday, wholesale traders had threatened to go on strike from October 1.

Madhya Pradesh Sugar Vyapari Mahasangh has alleged that the state government has imposed control on movement (transit) of sugar and quintals of sugar have been impounded and auctioned by government officials in the name of stock limit.

The state government has brought the sugar trade under licence or alleged “inspector Raj’ ambit last month to check flaring prices of the commodity.

“We will discontinue placing new orders of importing sugar from Maharashtra or other states from today onwards till our demands are not fulfiled,” Motiram Vadhwani, an office bearer of the association said.

Vadhvani added, “None of the officials, food and civil supplies minister or the chief minister, had spoken to the association on the issue, it was wrongly reported by a section of media that the chief minister had spoken to us.”

State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Paras Jain refused to speak on the issue.

The wholesale traders said they felt harassed when the government officials impounded truckloads of sugar in transit in the name of control on sugar.

“The government should not have imposed licence system on sugar trade. How can a transporter protect sugar from rains or other calamities during transit? The authorities have no right to impound a legally transported commodity during the transit. And how come it falls under ambit of licence or stock limit when the details of commodity (including name of its consignee and destination) is furnished in Form 49 at commercial check post at state border? The officials harass us,” a wholesale trader said.

The sugar trade volume, according to the association, reaches 100,000 quintals a month. The government has put the trader under licence regime and has capped the stock limit at 2,000 quintals for each wholesale trader. “The problem is we cannot complaint anywhere. We have no option but to go on strike. None wants to do business in losses,” Vadhwani said.