Sugar surges 21% in three weeks on govt's reverse stock limit order

Hits Rs 3,341 a quintal in Vashi Mandi; mills say govt's Rs 70-bn package, buffer stock move are knee-jerk reactions, supply glut not addressed

Sugar prices jumped by over 21 per cent in three weeks on Monday, to hit the highest since March on expectations of reduced supply from mills, following the reverse stock limit imposed by the government to control supply.

The benchmark M30 variety of sugar, which had hit the lowest this season to Rs 2,762 a quintal on May 19 on a supply glut, rose sharply over the next three weeks to trade at Rs 3,341 in the wholesale Vashi Mandi on Monday. 

With 31.5 million tonnes of sugar output in the current season along with nearly four million tonnes of