Mills seek special subsidy Kolhapur: Despite an estimated 30-40 lakh tonnes of sugar being available in excess of domestic demand, the Centre is stepping up efforts to keep sugar prices under control. The Union Food Ministry has urged Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka to advance the 2026-27 sugarcane crushing season so that fresh sugar reaches the market before the existing stock is exhausted. Sugar mills, however, say an early start will come at a cost. They are seeki

AI generated image Kolhapur: A sugar shortage can push up prices. But what happens when prices rise sharply despite the country having enough sugar in its warehouses? That is the uncomfortable question emerging from the sugar market’s July-August price surge. There was no evidence of an outright shortage when the new sugar season approached. Government estimates indicated that the country would have around 43 lakh metric tonnes of carry-forward stock. The Centre, relying on t

India’s sugar crisis is less about one bad season than about the uneasy trade-offs between food, fuel, water and farm incomes India’s latest sugar-price shock is a reminder that agricultural markets rarely obey the neat logic of supply and demand. Retail sugar prices surged towards Rs. 62–Rs. 67 a kilogram before easing after government intervention. But the episode exposes a deeper problem: India is asking its sugar economy to serve too many objectives at once - support farm