As if countering food and civil supplies minister Thomas, ISMA on Tuesday said that prices of the sweetener have remained stable in the past five months despite exports, industry body ISMA said on Tuesday.
Minsiter had told on Monday that prices have gone up by Rs 4 per kg after the exports of sugar were allowed.
Talking to Indiancooperative.com ISMA Director General Abinash Verma told “I am not contradicting Minister’s statement but merely quoting government sources”. He said that if you compare the retail prices of sugar on 27 th June with that of 10 days back, they remain the same.
These figures comes from the consumer affairs website of the Ministry itself, he added.
“Mills have produced 23.97 MT of sugar till June 15 of the ongoing 2010-11 season, as against 18.55 MT in the year-ago period,” Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) Director General Abinash Verma told further.
Sugar season runs from October to September.
“We will easily achieve the production target of 24.2 MT of sugar set for the ongoing 2010-11 season,” he said, adding that 74 mills were operational as on June 15.
ISMA, which represents private mills, had earlier pegged the total sugar output at 25 MT for the 2010-11 season but later lowered it to 24.2 MT, in line with the government’s
estimate. Last year, sugar output was 18.8 MT.
Mills in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, the country’s top two producers, have produced 9.1 MT and 5.88 MT of sugar, respectively, till June 15 of the ongoing season, ISMA said.
Sugar output in these two states was 7.06 MT and 5.17 MT, respectively, in the same period last season.
Total sugar production is higher than the annual domestic demand of 22-22.5 MT.
On reports of rising retail sugar prices, Verma said, “The retail prices in the national capital is stable at Rs 32-33 per kg since the past four-five months despite the government allowing one million tonnes of export in two tranches under Open General Licence (OGL).”
He further said that retail sugar prices have not risen in the city’s Kendriya Bhandar and Big Bazaar after the government announced export of the sweetener in the last week.
In view of higher production, the government has allowed export of one million tonnes of sugar under the OGL scheme (unrestricted). So far, the government has given the release
order for more than 0.4 million tonnes.
Verma said, “Mills located near ports would export at a premium of Rs 5-6 per kg. At present, global prices are ruling at USD 750 per tonne.”
In the next season, India’s sugar production is likely to be 26 MT as per preliminary estimates, he added.