Sugar Free-Sale Quota for July Matches Last Year's Level
02-Jul-2026 05:45 PM
New Delhi: Since March 2026, the Central Government had been keeping the monthly sugar quota for domestic sales lower compared to 2025; however, the quota fixed for July 2026 remained equal to that of July 2025. The Union Ministry of Food has set a free-sale quota of 2.2 million tonnes (22 lakh tonnes) of sugar for July 2026.
Including this July allocation, the total domestic sales quota issued by the government for the 10-month period from October 2025 to July 2026 in the current marketing season stands at 22.3 million tonnes (223 lakh tonnes); this is approximately 3 percent lower than the 22.95 million tonnes (229.50 lakh tonnes) allocated during the October 2024–July 2025 period.
Available data indicates that out of the first 10 months of the current marketing season, the free-sale quota was lower than the previous season in seven months and remained equal in the remaining three. Due to the lack of expected growth in production and limited carry-over stocks held by the industry, the government is having to determine sugar quotas with great caution this time.
Compared to July 2025, the monthly free-sale quota for July 2026 has been reduced by 9 percent to 0.823 million tonnes (8.23 lakh tonnes) for Uttar Pradesh. Conversely, the quota for Maharashtra has been increased by 8.5 percent to 0.718 million tonnes (7.18 lakh tonnes), and for Karnataka, it has been raised by 31 percent to 0.318 million tonnes (3.18 lakh tonnes).
A quota of 0.341 million tonnes (3.41 lakh tonnes) has been allocated for other states in the country for July, which is about 12 percent lower than the quota fixed for July 2025. These states include Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
It is noteworthy that Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka collectively account for 75–80 percent of the country's sugar production. Wholesale and retail sugar prices are running somewhat higher than last season, and this situation is likely to persist.