Centre fixes sugar sale quota at 13 lakh tonnes

NEW DELHI: The Centre’s Department of Food and Public Distribution has fixed the fortnightly domestic sugar quota for the second fortnight of November at 13 lakh metric tonnes, according to an official statement issued on Friday.

In addition, sugar mills are permitted to sell, during this month, the sugar produced up to November 30, over and above their allocated sales quota for the second fortnight of November. This applies to mills that start crushing in November or had already started crushing in October, the statement said.

The government has replaced the old monthly quota system with a fortnightly allocation system starting September 2026 to curb artificial price swings, short-selling and hoarding at the end of the month.

Further, the government stipulated that every mill will have to sell at least 40 per cent of the fortnightly allocation in the first week and the remaining quantity in the following week.

This forms part of its initiatives to tame soaring sugar prices, which had topped Rs 70 a kg in retail outlets across the country at one point. Retail sugar prices across major Indian cities now range from Rs 61 to Rs 66 per kg (as of November 12), with an all-India average retail price of Rs 60.53 per kg.

Earlier, the government also extended the deadline for duty-free imports of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) by two months to December 31 to ensure adequate supplies are available during the festive season at reasonable prices.

The Finance Ministry had, on August 20, allowed duty-free imports of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar until October 31. In the last week of October, it issued a fresh notification to extend the last date for duty-free imports to December 31, 2026.