Overview
- The Centre announced the order Tuesday and it takes effect on August 1, running until November 30 to cover the festival season.
- Under the directive no dealer may hold sugar for more than 30 days from receipt or keep more than 4,000 quintals at any one location.
- All dealers must declare and update stocks weekly on the Department of Food and Public Distribution portal while the government will carry out physical mill verifications from August 1–14.
- Officials say the steps target hoarding, speculative and paper trades that they blame for recent price spikes despite what they call adequate national stocks.
- Industry groups welcomed greater transparency but warned limits could disrupt normal distribution in the short term and that further moves such as imports may be considered if prices keep rising.