Govt fixes 16.5 lac tonnes sugar quota for sale in July

Sugar mills can sell 16.50 lakh tonnes of the sweetener in the open market in July, the government today said.

In a notification issued today, the food ministry has allocated sugar quota for sale to each of 524 mills in the country.

Recently, the government had announced creation of 3 million tonnes of buffer stock and stock holding limit on sugar mills in a bid to improve liquidity of cash-starved millers and enabling them to clear cane arrears of around Rs 20,000 crore.

Reacting to the development, All India Sugar Trade Association (AISTA) Chairman Praful Vithalani said it is a reasonable quota for July month when monsoon hits all over and the demand for soft drinks and ice creams remains lower.

The country's sugar production is estimated to be a record 32 million tonnes in the 2017-18 season (September-October), as against 20.3 million tonnes last year. The production is much higher than the annual demand of 25 million tonnes.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)