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Informist, Tuesday, Jul. 28, 2026

 

--Govt imposes stock holding limits on sugar dealers from Aug 1 to Nov 30

--Govt: No sugar dealer shall hold stocks beyond 400 tonnes 

 

MUMBAI – The Centre has imposed a stockholding limit on sugar dealers from Aug. 1, capping their total holding at 400 tonnes at any given time to prevent hoarding and improve market supplies, according to a gazette notification from the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. The stockholding limit will remain in force till Nov. 30, as per the notification.

 

The government also mandated that dealers dispatch all stocks within 30 days of purchase. "...no dealer of sugar shall hold any stock for a period exceeding thirty days from the date of receipt of such stock, and shall not keep sugar in stock at any time and in any place throughout the country in excess of 4000 quintals," according to the notification.

 

To monitor the stockholding period, the government has asked dealers to declare the date they received stocks and regularly update the stock position on the food department's portal. The Centre's stock limits do not apply to dealers nominated by state governments for distributing sugar through fair price shops.

 

The government has been increasingly scrutinising the sugar market following the recent surge in prices. Over the past few weeks, ex-mill sugar prices have risen more than 15% on panic buying and speculation that supplies could tighten in the coming months.

 

The market has been discussing various possible government interventions, including release of weekly sales quota for mills, imposition of stock limits on dealers and bulk buyers, and even permitting sugar imports at zero duty. So far, the government has not imposed a weekly sales quota for mills and is continuing to administer sales through monthly quotas.

 

Earlier in the day, the government announced the sales quota for August at 2.25 million tonnes, unchanged from a year ago. The August quota was significantly lower than the market's expectation of 2.30 million-2.35 million tonnes in an Informist Poll. Some participants in the poll even expected the quota to be as high as 2.4 million tonnes.

 

"Despite industry assurance of adequate stock availability, the government seems to be conscious of stock availability," an industry official said. "They seem to be attempting to stretch the remaining stocks until the next production season," he added.

 

The government fixes the maximum quantity of sugar available for sale every month to support prices and help mills clear the arrears of sugarcane farmers. It also sets the monthly sales quota for each sugar mill.  End

 

Reported by Afra Abubacker

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

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