New Delhi:

Prices of essential food items will remain stable during the festival season, Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra on Thursday said.

The decision on allowing sugar exports during the current 2023-24 marketing year (October-September) will be taken after the agriculture ministry comes out with the production estimates of sugarcane, he added.

The secretary was briefing the media on the domestic supply and prices of key essential food items like wheat, rice, sugar and edible oils.

“Prices are expected to remain stable during the festival season. We are not anticipating any manner of hike (in food item prices) in the festival season. Hopefully, prices should rule stable in the next couple of months,” Sanjeev Chopra told reporters here.

The government has taken some decisions recently to ensure price stabilisation, the secretary said.

The government has recently used all tools at its command, whether trade policy or stock limit norms. These tools have been used judiciously to ensure prices remain stable to check prices, Sanjeev Chopra noted.

Sugar opening stock stood at 57 lakh tonnes on October 1, the start of the new marketing year, Sanjeev Chopra noted.

On Wednesday, the government again extended restrictions on sugar exports beyond October 31 this year and till further orders, a move aimed at increasing the availability of the commodity in the domestic market during the festive season.

Earlier, the restrictions were imposed until October 31 this year.

“Restriction on export of Sugar (Raw Sugar, White Sugar, Refined Sugar and Organic sugar) is extended beyond October 31, 2023 till further order. Other conditions will remain unchanged,” the Directorate General of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification. 

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Petrol sales dropped to 1.17 million tonnes during the first half of October from 1.29 million tonnes a year earlier.
| Photo Credit: Manvender Vashist

Petrol and diesel sales fell in the first half of October ahead of the start of the festival season that is expected to boost consumption, preliminary data of state-owned firms showed.

Last year, Durga Puja/Dussehra as well as Diwali fell in October. This year the festival season, when consumption picks up, starts in the second half of October.

Petrol sales by three state-owned fuel retailers fell 9% year-on-year, the first drop in two months. Diesel consumption dropped 3.2%.

The decline was largely because of the larger base of last year.

Petrol sales dropped to 1.17 million tonnes during the first half of October from 1.29 million tonnes a year earlier.

Sales dropped 9% month-on-month as well.

Consumption of diesel, the most consumed fuel in the country — accounting for about two-fifths of the demand, dropped to 2.99 million tonnes during October 1 to 15 from 3.09 million tonnes a year back. Month-on-month sales were, however, up 9.6% compared with 2.73 million tonnes in the first half of September.

Diesel sales typically fall in monsoon months as rains lower demand in the agriculture sector which uses the fuel for irrigation, harvesting and transportation. Also, rains slow vehicular movements. This had led to a fall in diesel consumption in the last three months. Since the end of the monsoon, consumption has risen month-on-month.

Consumption of diesel had soared 6.7% and 9.3%in April and May, respectively, as agriculture demand picked up and cars yanked up air-conditioning to beat the summer heat. It started to taper in the second half of June after the monsoon set in. It has continued to fall since.

Suppliers’ group OPEC sees India’s oil demand expanding on average by 2,20,000 barrels per day on the back of vigorous economic growth.

Consumption of petrol during October 1-15 was 12%more than in the COVID-marred October 2021 and 21.7% more than in pre-pandemic October 2019.

Diesel consumption was up 23.4% over October 1-15 in 2021 and 23.1% compared to October 2019.

With the continuing rise in passenger traffic at airports, jet fuel (ATF) demand rose 5.7% to 2,95,200 tonnes during first fortnight of October against the same period last year.

It was 36.5% more than in October 1-15, 2021, but 6.6% lower than pre-COVID October 2019.

Month-on-month jet fuel sales were almost 2% lower compared to 3,00,900 tonnes in September 1-15, 2023.

Cooking gas LPG sales were up 1.2% year-on-year at 1.25 million tonnes in the first half of October. LPG consumption was 10.6% higher than in October 1-15, 2021 and 153% more than in pre-COVID October 2019.

Month-on-month, LPG demand fell 7.5% against 1.36 million tonnes of LPG consumption during September 1-15, the data showed.