With the removal of the stock limit, bulk users would be able to stock high quantity of the sweetener required for their products  With low sugarcane output, most consumers including bulk buyers were facing the brunt of low availability of sugar, which in turn led to price rise of the commodity. Bulk buyers including manufacturers of cold drinks and ice-creams, among others have been adversely affected by the scarcity of the sweetener. However, since the past few months, sugar prices have plummeted. In this context, according to a poll conducted by FoodProcessing360, 100% of the respondents felt that with the availability of sugar in the domestic market at reasonable rates, the stock limit imposed on bulk buyers should be removed.Past scenario
India is regarded as the largest consumer of sugar in the world. The sweetener is used to prepare a wide range of Indian sweets, ice-creams, soft drinks and confectionary food items that are in high demand among domestic consumers.
“With the demand for sugar rising in the domestic market, there has been non-availability of the commodity. As a result, bulk users were stocking their store houses with huge quantities of sugar, which further lowered availability of the sweetener,” says Vinay Gupta, proprietor of Saroj Pvt Ltd, a mid-sized sugar exporter in Mumbai. Therefore, bulk users were permitted to stock the commodity only for 15 days in August 2009, which was further reduced to 10 days in February 2010. With importation of sugar, bulk users have been again permitted to stock the commodity for 15 days from May 21, 2010.
Impact on bulk users, millers
“However, with projection of high output leading to adequate availability of the sweetener, the government is planning to remove the stock limit of sugar for bulk buyers. This will help bulk buyers to increase production of food items, thereby catering to consumer demand,” says Moon Johari, CEO of Maa Sulakshna International, a small-sized sugar exporter in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
With the removal of the stock limit, sugar mill owners would also be encouraged to process large quantity of sugarcane in order to meet demands of bulk users. Resultantly, mill owners would be able to earn higher revenues.
Sabrina Mitchell |
