By IANS,
New Delhi : The 1.79 million tonnes of sugar released for next month was adequate to meet the internal demand for the period, the government said Friday.
“This quantity is adequate to meet the internal demand of sugar for the month of February,” a statement from the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution said.
Earlier projections were that sugar output would be on par with the 14.6 million tonnes of 2008-09.
Current data of sugar processed up to December-January shows a drop of around 2.5 percent across the country, compared to the like period last year.
If this trend continued, officials said, total output this year could be much lower than the estimates of 16 million tonnes announced recently.
Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar had said earlier this month that the country would have enough sugar this year, but there is concern at the highest level in the government that the output could be low and sugar prices would continue to remain high.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had expressed concern at his Wednesday meeting with the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and Pawar over sugar output projections this year and their possible impact on consumer prices, an official said.