The government has allocated 19.07 lakh tonnes of sugar for sale in the open market and ration shops during December, slightly less than last month.
The Food Ministry has decided to make available 19.07 lakh tonnes of sugar in December, out of which 17 lakh tonnes is meant for the open market (non-levy sugar) and the remaining 2.07 lakh tonnes (levy sugar) is to be distributed through the Public Distribution System (PDS).
“This quantity of 19.07 lakh tonnes is sufficient to meet the internal demand of sugar for December 2011,” an official statement said today.
The Ministry had allocated 19.15 lakh tonnes of the sweetener last month.
Sugar mills are required to sell 10 per cent of their production to the government for PDS supply at cheaper rates.
The Government has given one month’s time, till December 31, for sale of the entire non-levy sugar quantity.
In the ongoing 2011-12 marketing year (October-September), sugar production is estimated at 25-26 million tonnes against annual demand of 22 million tonnes.