Govt may extend sugar futures ban beyond Dec '09

India, the world's biggest consumer may extend a ban on futures beyond Dec. 31, farm minister Sharad Pawar said on Thursday.

"If required, we will give serious thought to extend it," Pawar told the lower house of the parliament in a reply to the issue of price rise in essential food items. India suspended sugar futures earlier this year to rein retail prices.

In September, the chief of Forward Markets Commission, the market regulator, said the ban on sugar futures could be extended beyond December.

Source:ImagesFood