The government and the sugar industry are working together to ensure that sugar remains available to consumers at reasonable prices during the upcoming festive season, Indian Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) Director General Deepak Ballani said on Thursday.
Speaking to IANS here, Ballani said maintaining stable sugar supplies and affordable prices remains a priority, especially with major festivals such as Dussehra and Diwali approaching.
“First of all, government and industry, we are committed to provide sugar at a very reasonable rate to the consumers, especially during the festival demand, festival season,” he said.
“We will have Dusshera very soon, Diwali, a lot of festivals, a lot of, you know, so we have to ensure that the sugar is available at a very reasonable price. The retail prices, as I said, has already come down,” he added.
According to him, sugar supplies in the domestic market remain adequate and efforts are being made to keep prices under control.
Ballani noted that retail sugar prices have already started moderating and are likely to decline further in the coming weeks.
He explained that there is usually a time lag between movements in ex-mill prices and retail prices, as the benefits of lower wholesale prices take time to pass through the supply chain.
He said ex-mill sugar prices have already rationalised by around 25-30 per cent, with the pan-India average ex-mill price currently at about Rs 4,450 per quintal.
As a result, he expects retail prices to gradually correct as market participants adjust to the lower cost levels.
“Basically, what happens is that it takes some time for the prices to reflect all the way down to the retail prices. Now that the XMIL prices have already rationalised by almost 25 to 30 per cent, pan-India average XMIL prices are on 4450. So I believe with time to come, retail prices will also correct,” Ballani mentioned.
