The government has imposed stock limits on sugar mills for the next two months to keep prices under control during the festival season, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said today.
Sugar production in India, the world's second largest producer, is estimated to decline to around 21 million tonnes (mt) in 2016-17 season ending September from 25 mt in the previous year.
Sugar demand is estimated at 24-25 mt annually.
"We have imposed stock limits on sugar mills for the month of September and October to keep prices under control," Paswan tweeted.
The minister said that the stock limit for September has been kept at 21 per cent of the total sugar available with the mills during entire 2016-17 marketing year (October- September).
The stock limit for October will be 8 per cent of the total sugar availability during the current marketing year, the minister said.
The stock limits have been imposed to prevent artificial hoarding of sugar by mills during the festival season.
Sugar prices are ruling at more than Rs 40 per kg in the retail market while branded sugar is available at Rs 50 per kg.
The government last month had increased import duty on sugar to 50 per cent, up from 40 per cent, to restrict cheap inward shipments and maintain domestic prices.
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