Now Reading: Retailers cap sugar purchases as prices surge 40%
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Retailers cap sugar purchases as prices surge 40%
D-Mart, BigBasket, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart have begun restricting sugar purchases to 3 kg to 5 kg per customer as retail prices surged 40% in two months ahead of the festive season.…
D-Mart, BigBasket, Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart have begun restricting sugar purchases to 3 kg to 5 kg per customer as retail prices surged 40% in two months ahead of the festive season. The squeeze follows an unanticipated fall in sugar production below initial estimates, exports of 800,000 tonnes and alleged hoarding by intermediaries.
Packaged food makers plan to raise prices by at least 5% to 6%, blaming higher costs for sugar and edible oil. India last week allowed the import of 1 million tonnes of sugar to tame prices, but mill-level prices remain at Rs 58 per kg after touching Rs 65 in June.
Blinkit in Delhi-NCR limits purchases to one 5 kg pack per transaction, while BigBasket caps at five 1 kg packs. D-Mart stores display boards restricting customers to 5 kg per invoice. Manufacturers said they have no choice but to pass on cost increases to consumers ahead of Rakshabandhan.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The government's August 2023 permission to import 1 million tonnes of sugar is a rare move for a country that is usually a net exporter. India's sugar output fell below the 330 lakh tonne estimate largely because of unseasonal rain in Maharashtra and Karnataka, the top producing states. The export of 8 lakh tonnes approved before the ban tightened stocks further. The next signal to watch is whether the government extends the import window beyond the current permission or allows further releases from the buffer stock to cool prices before Diwali. The Sugar and Bio-energy Manufacturers’ Association (ISMA) will release its first advance estimate for the 2023-24 season in October, which will determine whether the supply squeeze is structural or seasonal.
Source: retail.economictimes.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
