Sugar prices increase in wholesale market as production takes beating
08 Jan 2020 11:14:22
Business Bureau :
The prices in wholesale market are in the range of Rs 35 to Rs 38. At retail, the prices are quoted between Rs 40 and Rs 41
The sugar prices in the wholesale market are moving in the range of Rs 35 to Rs 38 per kilogram. Sources attributed this escalation in the prices of sugar due to less production. The production of sugar this year in the country was 2.6 lakh tonne as compared to 3.4 lakh tonne in the year ago period. At retail, the prices are being quoted at Rs 40 to Rs 41 per kilogram. Government has capped the sugar prices at Rs 31 per kg. Ramdas Wajani, President of Nagpur Itwari Kirana Merchants Association said, Government is promoting the production of ethanol.
Majority of the sugar millers in the country have diversified towards production of ethanol as the prices of ethanol is more than sugar. Secondly, he said, the rains last year was not upto the expectations which too had affected the production of sugarcane in the country. In Nagpur, there are 15 to 20 wholesalers in Itwari market. The sale has taken a beating as the market is scattered. “Earlier, grocery shopkeepers used to come at Itwari from different places in the city.
Now, as the new markets have come up in Dharampeth, Khamla, Hingna, Gol Bazar etc., grocery shopkeepers are sourcing their requirement from nearby markets,” Wajani said. In Nagpur, the daily consumption of sugar is 800 to 1,000 tonne. The consumption is constant. Daily 8 to 10 vehicles are coming to the Itwari market. As new markets have come up at different places, wholesalers in the new markets are directly placing orders to sugar mills.
“This has affected the sale of sugar in the Itwari market. The outside sale of sugar from Itwari market is limited,” he added. He predicted that in the coming months sugar prices are likely to increase by Rs 2 to Rs 3. “We are expecting that during the next monsoon season, the rains will be satisfactory which will help in increasing the sugarcane production,” he said.