# BJP minister says sugar should be very expensive, sparks row 2026-08-27T02:31:40+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya has said sugar should be 'very expensive' and that those over 40 should avoid it entirely, drawing sharp opposition fire as retail prices top Rs 65 per kg before the festive season. The BJP leader told reporters on Wednesday that 90 per cent of people no longer like sweets and that he has given them up. He suggested cheap sugar only at fair price shops for children, and none for the elderly. State Congress chief Jitu Patwari accused the BJP of mocking citizens over inflation and said voters would reply in upcoming elections. Opposition parties have blamed the government's ethanol blending policy for pushing up sugar prices. The government rejects this, blaming industry pricing. Retail sugar rose over Re 1 per kg on Wednesday, despite a 20 per cent drop in ex-mill rates after the Centre allowed imports of 10 lakh tonnes of raw sugar. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Ethanol blending diverted a record 35 lakh tonnes of sugar into fuel last season, the Food Ministry said. That same programme, designed to cut oil imports, has now tightened domestic supply ahead of the festival month, when sweet consumption peaks. Sugar mills, paid more for ethanol than for the commodity itself, have little reason to boost white sugar output. The real pressure point is the winter cane harvest: if crushing lags, wholesale rates will climb further. The government's import window of 10 lakh tonnes of raw sugar will test whether global markets can fill the gap without raising retail prices. ## Coverage - rediff.com Leads with the minister's quote and opposition reaction but includes government data and defence, neutral framing This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: BJP, Congress, ethanol blending, Kailash Vijayvargiya, Madhya Pradesh, sugar prices Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bjp-minister-says-sugar-should-be-very-expensive-sparks-row/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bjp-minister-says-sugar-should-be-very-expensive-sparks-row/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/