The wholesale prices of sugar softened significantly after the strictness of the government, but there is not much softening in the retail prices yet. While sugar has become cheaper in the markets from Delhi to Guwahati, the prices have remained stable in the retail market for the last two days. According to the sugar market, the price of 1 quintal sugar in Mumbai on August 22 was Rs 6750 and now it has come down to Rs 5200. From all time high of Rs 6600 in Delhi, the price of sugar remained at Rs 5700 per quintal on 2nd September.
Similarly, the latest price of bulk sugar in Kanpur has come to Rs 5650 per quintal, in Raipur, Ranchi and Kolkata it has come to Rs 5400 per quintal. In Guwahati it is Rs 5450, in Hyderabad it is Rs 5300 and in Chennai it is Rs 5900 per quintal. GST is included in these rates.
No change in retail price
On September 2, the retail price of sugar in Mumbai and Guwahati was Rs 62 per kg. In Ranchi, Delhi, Kanpur, Raipur, Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad, the price of 1 kg sugar stood at Rs 61. Whereas, in Chennai it was Rs 63 per kg. Even on September 1, the rates of sugar in the retail market in these cities were the same.
How cheap has sugar become?
Due to the government’s strictness and measures, sugar has become cheaper by Rs 7 in Delhi in 12 days. China prices have fallen by Rs 9 in Kanpur, Rs 8 in Raipur and Rs 6 in Mumbai during this period. In Ranchi, sugar has come down from Rs 70 to Rs 61. Sugar has come down from Rs 71 to Rs 62 in Guwahati and Rs 70 to Rs 61 in Kolkata. Even in Hyderabad and Chennai, sugar reached Rs 70 on August 22.
What steps has the government taken?
To control prices, the government imposed stock holding limits for large consumers and dealers. The government has also intensified action against those hoarding sugar and hiding stocks.
The government had allowed duty-free import of 10 lakh metric tonnes of sugar on August 21. 3-4 consignments containing about 70-80 thousand tonnes of sugar have already departed from the exporting countries. Apart from this, about 3-4 lakh tonnes of sugar is expected to be refined and available in the market at Indian ports only.
Especially in view of the festive season, the government is trying to maintain adequate stock in the market and keep prices under control. If all these steps work as expected, further softening of sugar prices may be seen in the coming weeks.
