Government moves raw sugar import quota to daily allocation amid rising prices | Today’s news
The Center on Tuesday shifted the allocation of the remaining 2,02,550 tonnes of raw sugar imports under the tariff quota (TRQ) to the daily system, replacing the one-time allocation used for the original quota. The move aims to boost domestic supplies amid rising sugar prices ahead of the festive season.
Average retail sugar prices rose by 37.5%. ₹63.28 per kilogram as of August 31 from ₹46.02 per kg a year ago, according to government data. Demand for sugar usually rises before the holidays.
The move comes as the government cuts the stock holding limit for sugar traders to half from 4,000 quintals, effective from September 15 to November 30, and tightens restrictions on hoarding and speculative trading. The previous limit of 4,000 cents was implemented from August 1.
Read also | The Center is reducing the stock limit of sugar traders to 2,000 quintals from September 15
Bulk buyers are also prohibited from holding sugar stocks beyond 15 days of consumption from Tuesday (September 1), while central and state government teams conduct physical verification of sugar stocks at mills to check hoarding and artificial shortages.
Additionally, states and sugar mills have been advised to start crushing from October 15, 2026. The government expects this to increase sugar production in October from the usual 300,000-400,000 tonnes to over 1 million tonnes, improving availability during the festive season.
Sugar production for the current season is estimated at around 30.6 million tonnes, down from an initial estimate of about 34.3 million tonnes, according to government data. She attributed the shortage to factors such as red rot, borer and waterlogging caused by excessive rainfall.
Daily quota
Eligible sugar mills and refineries can apply for allocation of 2,02,550 tonnes of raw sugar, which remains under the 1 million tonnes tariff quota announced in August, according to a government notification dated September 1. Applications of 7,97,450 tonnes have already been received against the original quota.
The new application window will remain open for seven days, until September 7 from the date of publication of the notification. Eligible plants and refineries can apply online through the website of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Import Management System and Tariff Quota Section.
Applications received by 5.30pm on the given day will be treated as one batch and processed together for next working day allocation, subject to review and eligibility. Applications received after 5.30 pm will be carried over and combined with the next day’s batch, he said.
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For each daily batch, the allocation will be made strictly in the order of aggregate demand received that day, on a self-declared basis, subject to the availability of the remaining quota, the company said.
The government regulation also provided for a proportional mechanism if requests exceed the available amount. If the cumulative quantity requested during the day, together with the quantities already allocated up to the previous day, exceeds the remaining 2,02,550 tonnes, the available quantity will be distributed among the applicants in proportion to the quantity sought by each applicant, he said.
A proportional mechanism means allocating the available quantity in proportion to each applicant’s share of the total quantity requested.
Once the entire balance quota is exhausted or allotted, applications received on subsequent days will not be considered for allotment and applicants will be informed through the DGFT portal, the notification said.
The date and time recorded on the DGFT online portal will determine the day to which the application belongs. DGFT said manual or offline submissions will not be considered.
This move effectively provides an additional opportunity for eligible importers to secure some of the remaining quota while moving the allocation of the remaining quantity to an ongoing daily process rather than another one-off allocation. This approach also allows for proportional allocation if demand exceeds the remaining quota on any given day.
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The influence of price
“A daily allocation of the remaining import quota would provide more flexibility in responding to changes in the availability and prices of domestic sugar compared to a one-time allocation. The mechanism could help ensure that quotas are released in line with market demands rather than being concentrated into a single allocation,” said Binod Anand, agricultural economist and member of the Centre’s high-powered committee on SMEs.
Paras Tyagi, a Delhi-based public policy expert, said the move would help curb further price spikes and stabilize supplies during the peak festive season. “However, a full price correction to pre-inflation levels will depend on the actual arrival of imported raw sugar and the rate at which it is processed.”
