The central government has reduced the sugar stock-holding limit for dealers from 4,000 quintals to 2,000 quintals. The new regulation, which remains in effect from September 15 to November 30, prohibits dealers from holding stock for longer than 30 days. While the 2,000-quintal cap applies nationwide, the original 4,000-quintal limit is retained for Kolkata and its surrounding metropolitan areas to address specific supply chain needs.
This intervention follows a 37 per cent surge in retail sugar prices, which reached an all-India average of Rs 63.28 per kg by August 31. Although the government maintains that domestic stocks are sufficient to meet the annual demand of 280 to 285 lakh tonnes, production estimates for the 2025-26 marketing year have been lowered to 306 lakh tonnes from an initial 343 lakh tonnes. Officials stated that the measure is intended to prevent hoarding and speculative trading, citing inflated pricing by mills as a primary driver of the current market volatility.
