The government has no proposal to decontrol marketing and pricing of sugar and such decisions depend on how good production is, Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Wednesday.
“We are not even thinking of it. These types of decisions can be taken in September after assessing sugar production and monsoon,” he said, referring to Indian Sugar Mill Association’s demand that sugar be freed from government control and import duty be slapped on the sweetener.
He was replying to reporters when asked if the government was planning to decontrol the sugar sector.
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At present, the government controls everything from how much sugar mills must pay cane farmers (Fair and Remunerative Price) to how much sugar stocks bulk users like ice-cream and biscuit manufacturers can hold at a certain time.