Mumbai, August 24: Brace for a bittersweet Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Diwali with retail sugar prices continuing to rise from Rs.48.18 per kg in July to over Rs.55.70 per kg in August this year.
This spike comes after domestic sugarcane production has declined to 30.6 million tonnes due to rising crop diseases and a delayed monsoon.
Besides that, Opposition parties have alleged that the ethanol blending policy for petrol has diverted sugar for ethanol production, affecting retail prices. The government has rejected these allegation, saying that the share of sugar for ethanol production is just about 9% in 2025-26, with maize and other grains accounting for almost three fourths of ethanol production, according to a government report.
According to Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra, there remains ample sugar stocks in India despite a fall in production, and the government is making sure no one takes advantage of the situation.
“We have always been assisting the sugar sector, and we expect that they will not take advantage of these situations to the detriment of the consumers of the country,” he said. The government is expected to come down heavily on black marketers, hoarders and speculators as sugar prices are expected to stay high for an extended period.
“The government is closely monitoring the demand-supply dynamics of sugar across all states. We have sufficient buffer stocks to meet domestic consumption requirements through the festive season. The release of stock quotas and implementation of holding limits will ensure that retail prices remain stable and supply artificially constrained by hoarding is brought back into the open market.” Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi told reporters in Hubbali.
The government is also considering zero duty raw sugar imports in a timely manner even as the new crushing season approaches, to prevent undue price hikes especially during the upcoming festive season.
