The Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has extended time till September 30 for sugar importers to surrender their quota if they are unable to import under the 10 lakh tonne (lt) TRQ scheme. It has also said that for the unutilised and surrendered quantity of import quota, importers need to pay 0.5 per cent of the CIF value of the quantity.

The government last month allowed import of raw sugar at zero duty for which it sought applications from traders. The DGFT approved permits of about 8 lt import out of 10 lt announced under the scheme. Besides, refiners, who had already imported raw sugar at zero duty for re-export (under ALS), had sought approval for 2.65 lt for sales in the domestic market.

The government on August 31 allowed two refiners 50,000 tonne each and on Tuesday allocated 1 lt more to them (out of 2.65 lt) to sell in domestic market during September.

Hoarding blamed

Speaking at an industry event last week, organised by India Sugar & Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) in New Delhi, Ashwini Srivastava, a joint secretary with the Food Ministry, said that mills needed to sell ‌sugar at reasonable prices, and the government would take corrective measures to ⁠keep prices stable. “We have ⁠asked mills to provide accurate monthly production and sugar ⁠sale data,” he said.

Srivastava also blamed hoarding for the current price rise saying the surge was not ⁠because of a spurt in demand, rather due to hoarding in anticipation of further price rise in festival ​season. “It is the collective responsibility of the entire sector to ensure that prices remain stable. There is ‌no justification for any price rise during festivals,” ​he said.

Despite some fall in ex-mill prices in past few days, the retail prices are still at a higher level of about Rs 60-70/kg in many places, against in the range of Rs 45-50/kg in July. The official data show the retail prices are in the range between Rs 45/kg and Rs 85/kg whereas modal rate is Rs 60/kg on Tuesday.

Output estimate cut

The government has said that sugar production during the current season (October2025-September2026) is expected to be around 306 lt, down from the initial estimate of around 343 lt due to Red Rot and Top Borer diseases that affected cane crop. However, even after allowing 10 lt import of raw sugar at zero duty, the government maintains that adequate sugar stocks are available in the country to meet domestic demand.

Demand in India normally rise in summer (April-May) and then in August-November due to festivals like Raksha Bandhan, Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra and Diwali.

Published on September 15, 2026