Govt to check hoarding of sugar, onion ahead of festivals
The consumption of sugar and onions is at an all-time high during the two months that are witness to festivals.
In a bid to ensure easy availability of sugar and check its price during the festive months of September and October, the government has imposed stockholding limit for sugar mills to avoid hoarding.
It has also authorised state governments to impose control measures on onion traders and dealers to ensure adequate availability.
“The stockholding limit for the month of September and October has been capped at 21% and 8% respectively of total sugar available with sugar mills during 2016-17 sugar season. For keeping prices of sugar under control during the festival months of Sept & Oct 2017 stock limits have been imposed on sugar mills,” consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan tweeted on Tuesday.
The consumption of sugar and onions is at an all-time high during the two months that are witness to festivals such as Eid-Ul-Adha, Onam, Maha Navami, Dussehra, Karva Chauth, Diwali, Govardhan Puja and Chhat Puja among others.
The production of sugar in the year 2016-17 was recorded at 203 lakh tonnes as against the consumption of 250 lakh tonnes — a shortfall of 47 lakh tonnes.
However, the government managed the situation as it had a buffer stock of about 77 lakh tonnes last year. To ensure that the prices of essential commodities are under control, government has allowed states and UTs to impose control measures.