The government on Tuesday cut the stock holding limit for sugar dealers to 2,000 quintals from 4,000 quintals, effective September 15, in a move aimed at curbing hoarding and speculative trading and ensuring adequate supplies in the domestic market.The revised limit will remain in force until November 30, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said.The latest move represents a 50 per cent reduction in the quantity of sugar that dealers can hold and comes barely six weeks after the government introduced the 4,000-quintal limit.Under the revised provisions, dealers will not be permitted to hold more than 2,000 quintals of sugar at any given time or at any location. They will also be barred from retaining sugar for more than 30 days from the date of receipt, the ministry said.It said the tighter limit would help prevent excessive stock accumulation, discourage speculative trading and facilitate the orderly movement of sugar through the supply chain, ensuring continuous availability to consumers at reasonable prices.The government, however, has retained the existing 4,000-quintal limit for Kolkata and its extended metropolitan areas, citing the region’s specific supply requirements.Kolkata sources sugar from Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra and supplies it to eastern India, including the northeastern region. The government said the higher limit would therefore be maintained to facilitate the movement of sugar through the region’s supply chain.The government has also intensified monitoring and physical verification of sugar stocks across the country, covering sugar mills, dealers and traders.The exercise has identified instances of excess stockholding, non-disclosure and irregularities in the movement and sale of sugar, the ministry said.The government said the measures, along with improved market availability, have helped bring down ex-mill sugar prices by around 20 per cent in recent days. Retail prices have also begun showing a downward trend and are expected to follow the decline in ex-mill prices.The authorities have also put in place a mechanism for regular declaration and updating of sugar stocks through the Department of Food and Public Distribution’s online portal.