The Centre has made 17.91 lakh tonnes of sugar available for February. This includes 12 lakh tonnes of free-sale quota of sugar, 2.97 lakh tonnes of imported raw sugar converted into refined, 1.94 lakh tonnes of levy sugar in the Public Distribution System and one lakh tonne of imported raw/refined sugar expected in February.
With this , the government hopes to meet the internal demand and contain the price of sugar during the month.
The free-sale quota of sugar that was required to be sold /dispatched during a prescribed time limit for December and was not done by millers, has been converted into levy sugar.
In addition, for those sugar mills that did not submit the return on sale and dispatch of sugar within the prescribed time limit, the entire non-levy quantity released for December, 2009 was also converted into levy sugar.
Thus, a total of 3.60 lakh tonnes (1.86 lakh tonnes for first fortnight and 1.74 lakh tonnes for second fortnight) of unsold/ undispatched and unreported non-levy sugar has been converted into levy sugar in respect of 283 sugar mills and 22 groups of sugar mills said a Food Ministry press release.
