Any violation will lead to the filing of cases under the Essential Commodities Act, hoarding, black marketing. The violation will be treated as a criminal offence. All mills have been asked to upload their daily prices by 13 hours every day.
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Uttar Pradesh government’s order fixing a cap of ₹5,000 a quintal for sugar was withdrawn late on Thursday evening. Earlier, joining the Indian government’s efforts to curb sugar price rise during the festival season, the State government fixed a cap.The move came even as mill-level sugar prices dropped to ₹4,200 a quintal in Maharashtra, while retail sugar prices slipped further and wholesale rates dropped only in a few cities. The order was withdrawn on mills argument that the order was not in accordance with the provisions of the law.The Uttar Pradesh order, issued by the collector of Bijnor, wa applicable to the entire State. The collector said the decision to cap the price was taken after a virtual meeting with the State chief secretary. Over ₹5,000 now“Currently, UP mill rates are above ₹5,000. Traders are buying sugar at these levels and mills do not want to go below ₹5,000, as in Maharashtra,” said an industry source. However, the collector later withdrew it in another order.In Maharashtra, a few mills sold S-30 grade sugar at ₹4,200 a quintal, excluding taxes. Some mills offered sugar at prices ranging between ₹4,300 and ₹4,500 for S-30 grade sugar, while M-30 grade offers were ₹4,300-4,600. According to data from the Price Monitoring Division of the Consumer Affairs Department, all-Indian average retail price dropped to ₹62.33 a kg. However, retail prices ranged from ₹85-43 a kg across the country.Another directiveWholesale prices dropped by ₹50-100 a quintal, but rates in cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai ruled firm. In another directive, the Food Ministry on Thursday asked sugar mills in the country to provide details of sales during August 20-31 in a partial modification to its order issued on Wednesday, when it asked for details during August 20-25. Sugar prices declined by 30 per cent since August 21, when the Centre permitted duty-free import of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar until October 31. The Centre also changed the monthly sale quota allocation to fortnightly after retail prices soared over ₹70 a kg. It has stipulated that 40 per cent of the allocation will have to be sold in the first week and the rest in the second week.Global raw sugar price dipsBesides, traders’ premises are being inspected in different States to check hoarding, while physical stocks with mills are being monitored. The government has also cut the stock limit for bulk buyers (who purchase over 10 tonnes a month) to 15 days of their requirements and for traders to 200 tonnes, except for those in Kolkata and the North-East. In addition to these, the government allocated 13 lakh tonnes of sugar for sale in the first half of September. Besides, 3-3.5 lakh tonnes of sugar meant for exports are being diverted to the domestic market.On Thursday, global raw sugar prices on InterContinental Exchange, New York, dipped to 17.83 cents a pound ($396/tonne) for October contracts. Spot prices were firm at 18.38 cents ($405/tonne). In London, white sugar prices for December were $531 a tonne.Published on September 3, 2026
