Sugar stocks gain ground; rise as much as 3 per cent

Sugar stocks today rose by as much as 3 per cent after the government approved modalities for the beleaguered industry to avail interest-free loans to the tune of Rs 6,600 crore from banks for effecting timely payment to cane growers.
Shares of Sakthi Sugars jumped 2.56 per cent, while Bajaj Hindusthan gained 2.33 per cent at the BSE.
Among others, Shree Renuka Sugars was up 1.76 per cent, Dhampur Sugar Mills gained 1.59 per cent and Eid Parry (India) rose by 1.18 per cent.
A week back, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had given an in-principle approval for providing interest-free loans to cash-starved sugar mills and asked the Food Ministry to finalise the guidelines.

"In today's meeting, the CCEA approved the modalities for extending interest-free loans to the sugar industry," Food Minister K V Thomas said.
The Rs 80,000-crore sugar industry has been facing a cash crunch due to higher cost of production and lower selling prices in the wake of surplus output over the past few years.