India mulls duty free sugar imports amid festival price surge
India is thinking about importing sugar without any import tax for the first time in almost 10 years.
Why? Sugar prices have shot up nearly 20% in places like Maharashtra's Kolhapur market since early August, now at ₹5,350 per 100kg.
With big festivals like Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi coming up, the government wants to make sure there's enough sugar for everyone, and hopefully keep prices in check.
Government weighs stockpile and ethanol limits
The government's got a few backup plans too: they might let mills bring in around 1 million metric tons of sugar duty-free before the end of October, limit how much bulk traders can stockpile, and tweak how much sugar mills are allowed to sell.
There's also talk of sending more sugar from refineries straight into local markets and cutting back on using sugarcane for ethanol, just to make sure supply doesn't get too tight this festive season.