GoI orders mandatory disclosure of sugar stock

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To ensure adequate availability of sugar in the country, the government is planning strict action against sugar traders. Under this, traders will have to provide stock information. To deal with hoarding and curb speculation in the sugar market, the government has issued orders to mandatorily disclose the sugar stock position on the portal of the Department of Food and Public Distribution every Monday. This mandatory weekly stock disclosure for these entities is another step by the government to maintain a balanced and fair sugar market. By preventing hoarding and speculation, it aims to ensure that sugar is available to all consumers at affordable rates.

Help in decision-making This digital initiative will help in streamlining the sugar market by preventing commodity hoarders from doing any speculative transactions. Additionally, the initiative will also provide real-time data on sugar stocks and help the government take policy decisions, if needed, to mitigate the impact of rumours of rising sugar prices on consumers and the industry. The government is also expecting cooperation from sugar mills and traders to comply with the relevant laws and monthly domestic quota norms. Strict action will be taken against the mills violating this.

With 83 lakh tonnes stock at the end of August and crushing expected to begin in October, India has adequate stocks for domestic consumption and no shortage for festivals. In fact, the government has also released the first tranche of domestic sales quota of 13 lakh tonnes, which sugar mills can start selling with immediate effect. Considering the market conditions, more quota will be released soon.

According to Uppal Shah, co-founder and CEO of Agrimandi, the government wants to keep a close eye on the total stock of sugar available in the country and the dispatches. He says that this step of the government will bring transparency about the status of sugar stock in the country. The current season is in its final stages and the new sugar season will start within a fortnight. This step of digitising the sugar stock in the country will make it much easier for the government to take policy decisions when necessary. For the first time, the government has released the quota for the next month in the current month.