Sugar prices hit record highs amid supply concerns in India

Pune: Sugar prices in India have risen to record levels amid concerns over tight supplies, even as the government and industry bodies assured that there is adequate stock in the country.

According to the data with the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the retail price of sugar on Friday was ₹47 a kg in Delhi and ₹50 a kg in West Bengal, which were the highest on record.

Meanwhile, the average ex-mill sugar price has climbed to ₹44 per kg, about 14% higher than a year earlier, said industry experts, terming it an all-time high. In South India, mills are selling the sweetener at around ₹45 per kg, they said.


Also Read: India has adequate sugar stocks, no basis for speculation: ISMA, NFCSF

In a joint statement, the Indian Sugar & Bio-energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) and the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories Ltd said the country has adequate sugar stocks to comfortably meet domestic consumption requirements. "There is no justification for panic buying or speculative trading in the domestic sugar market," they said in the statement, issued after discussions with the government . "The industry firmly believes that the recent price movement is not supported by the underlying demand-supply fundamentals. Creating an impression of scarcity when sufficient stocks are available can lead to unnecessary market volatility, disrupt normal trade, and adversely affect consumers as well as downstream industries," they said.

The industry bodies appealed to the stakeholders to refrain from speculative buying, hoarding or spreading misleading information regarding sugar availability. Most of the increase in prices has happened over the past month, particularly in Maharashtra and Karnataka - the top and third-largest producers - where sugar inventories are lower than in other states. "As Maharashtra and Karnataka have lower sugar inventories, it is mills in other states that will benefit from the increase in sugar prices," said Praful Vithalani, chairman of sugar trading and broking firm Jagjeevan Keshavji & Co.

Production in the 2025-26 sugar year ending September 30 is estimated to be about 27.8 million tonnes, up 8.5% from 25.6 million tonnes the previous season, according to industry data.

The government banned sugar exports in May after production for the current season fell short of initial estimates.

Almost the entire 800,000 tonnes of sugar exported before the ban were shipped by mills in Maharashtra and Karnataka, which also utilised export quotas originally allocated to mills in Uttar Pradesh, along with their own. Mills in UP, the second-largest sugar producing state, were compensated with additional domestic sales quotas. "Due to stricter sugar payment terms in Maharashtra and Karnataka, many sugar cooperatives in these states sold more than their allocated quota, leaving them with lower inventories," said an industry analyst, who declined to be identified.