Odisha vows stern action sugar hoarders

The state government has vowed to take stern action against sugar hoarders and strengthen its enforcement squad to check hoarding of the essential food commodity.

Prices of sugar which were currently sold in the state in the range of Rs 42-Rs 45 a kg had escalated sharply from Rs 34-Rs 35 per kg a month back, hitting the consumers hard.

“Stern action will be taken against anybody found to be hoarding sugar. Sugar prices have shot up due to lack of foresight of the Government of India. The Centre relaxed sugar imports only recently,” minister for food, supplies and consumer welfare Pratap Keshari Deb told reporters after a review meeting.

 

“Sugar is currently sold in the range of Rs 42-Rs 45 per kg but we expect prices to stabilize within 20-25 days. The state’s sugar requirement under public distribution system (PDS) is 8,700 tonnes per month and we have just received the April quota”, he added.

According to estimates of Union agriculture ministry, area under sugarcane production is 5.22 million hectares compared to 5.05 million hectares in the previous fiscal. But scanty rain in key sugarcane areas of Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have raised concern on output. The Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) had forecast an output of 25 million tonnes for the next crop season beginning October.

India is expected to have opening sugar stocks of seven million tonnes in the new season from October 1 against 5.5 million tonnes a year ago, according to ISMA.