In an attempt to curb the rising prices of edible commodities in India, the Union Food Secretary, Sanjeev Chopra announced on Thursday that the spike in essential grocery items like edible oils, rice, wheat and sugar will remain steady for the course of the next couple of months – as the festive season is in full swing. Domestic supplies of these staple materials are not anticipated to see a hike in costs as the demand for these items will be high during this time.
Using tools like trade policies and stock limit norms to keep a check on the prices, a decision on approving sugar exports during 2023-24, is said to be on hold until the agricultural ministry has taken full account of production estimates for the sugarcane yield. Stating that the cost of sugar per kilo has remained the cheapest around the world at INR 44 per kg, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade has extended the restrictions on the exportation of all types of sugar – raw, organic, white and refined, until October 31.
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This price stabilisation is a result of many months of the government working to take a closer look into the inflating prices of essential food items and aims to redirect the supply into domestic markets where the demand is currently high. However, this move will also mean that the restrictions placed on the export of some other commodities will be indefinite, as the government monitors the price rise within the country. Some of these curbs include the ban on wheat since May 22 this year, as well as an extension on export duty of parboiled rice increasing by 20 percent until March 2024.