| These include an additional release of four lakh tonnes of free sale sugar quota for the January-March quarter, automatic conversion of unsold free-sale quota sugar into levy sugar at the end of every month and an extension in the time allowed for the re-export of the imported raw sugar from the present 24 months to 36 months. | |
| Announcing this at a press conference here, Pawar expressed the hope that these measures would help curb speculation-driven price rise of sugar. | |
| "If these measures also fail to bring down the prices, I will not hesitate to allow the import of white sugar (finished sugar) or to waive off the re-export obligation for raw sugar imported under the advance licence scheme," Pawar stated. | |
| He, however, added that he was confident that the prices would be contained and that white sugar import would not be necessary. | |
| He pointed out that though the government did not want to interfere in the functioning of the futures trading regulator (the forward markets commission), the latter on its own had raised the margin for such transactions from 8 per cent to 33 per cent. | |
| This, coupled with the anticipation of a government crackdown on speculators, had already resulted in a perceptible drop in sugar prices today, the minister claimed. The price fall (per quintal) was Rs 30 in Uttar Pradesh, Rs 35 in Maharashtra, Rs 45-50 in Gujarat and Rs 40-45 in Punjab. | |
| However, the prices did not decline in the southern sugar producing states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. | |
| He discounted the reports that a lower free-sale quota for the current quarter (January-March) was responsible for the present price rise. To the contrary, the total sugar releases for this quarter, including free-sale and levy sugar, were the highest in the past four years. | |
| The total release for the January-March quarter was 3.35 million tonnes in 2002, 3.05 million tonnes in 2003, 3.99 million tonnes in 2003 (election year) and 4.05 million tonnes in 2005. | |
| In fact, with four lakh tonnes of additional quota, the total availability in the current quarter would rise to 4.45 million tonnes, the highest-ever. | |
| Of the four-lakh tonne additional quota announced today, two lakh tonnes will be released in the current month, and one lakh tonnes each in February and March. | |
| Giving details of the availability of sugar and requirement, Pawar said the sugar year 2004-05 had begun with a carry-forward stock of 8.5 million tonnes. | |
| Anticipating that the likely output during the year will be about 12 million tonnes, the total availability of indigenous sugar will touch the 20.5-million tonne mark, against the assessed consumption requirement of 18 million tonnes. | |
| In addition to indigenous sugar, about 1.7 million tonnes of imported raw sugar will also be available for domestic consumption. Of this, about 1.1 million tonnes have already landed in the country and about six lakh tonnes are in the process of being contracted. | |
| The minister denied that the statutory sugarcane price (SMP) was too high and was one of the factors for the increase in sugar prices. "Actually, the cane growers were finding the returns from the sugarcane crop to be low and were switching to other crops," he said.
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