New Delhi, Aug. 28 -- Retail sugar prices finally fell Thursday after continuing their rise, a day after the all-India average touched Rs.65.06 a kg, with the Centre's decision to allow duty-free imports of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar beginning to cool the market. The all-India average retail price fell to Rs.64.33 a kg from Rs.65.06 on Wednesday, according to the consumer affairs ministry's daily price data. It had risen from Rs.55.73 a kg on August 20 to Rs.65.06 on August 26. "Wholesale and mill prices had begun to ease, but retail prices remained sticky as they typically lag behind. Even though I still doubt whether sufficient quantities are actually available in the market, the wholesale price fall has begun to show up in retail," Agri expert and founder of HnyB Deepak Pareek said. The Centre had allowed duty-free imports of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar on August 20, the first such move in nearly a decade, to boost domestic supplies ahead of the festival season as ex-mill prices touched a record high of Rs.7,100 per 100 kg in some states. Retail prices, however, remain sharply above previous levels. Thursday's average was about 31% higher than a month ago and 39% above a year earlier, when sugar retailed at Rs.46.40 a kg. The government has attributed the price rise to lower production, weather-related crop damage and higher festive demand, stating that there is no physical shortage and that speculative buying contributed to the surge. Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala alleged that the Union government deliberately allowed shortage of sugar despite having advance knowledge of a decline in production and buffer stocks resulting in a scam of Rs.36,000 crore on consumers during the four-month festive season....