Sugar shortage bites: Retailers cap purchases, prices surge 29% ahead of Raksha Bandhan

Major retailers and online grocery platforms have started limiting how much sugar customers can buy, as supplies tighten ahead of Raksha Bandhan, a period that typically sees a spike in household demand, according to Asmita Dey's Times of India report.

Retail chains including DMart and Reliance have capped purchases at around two to three kg per customer, an executive at a leading sugar brand told TOI on condition of anonymity. The executive added that while supplies are being rationed, there is no outright stock-out situation yet.

Also read: India to divert 350,000 tonnes of sugar exports to local market amid shortage


According to the report, quick commerce platforms Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart and Zepto were also found restricting sugar purchases to two to three packs per person across brands, based on checks conducted on Wednesday. On Blinkit, only one 5 kg pack of Whole Farm Grocery sugar could be added in the evening, while 1 kg and 5 kg Madhur Sugar packs were unavailable.

Swiggy Instamart had a two-pack cap in place, with several Madhur and Parry's packs out of stock. Zepto showed a similar pattern. A search for white sugar returned no results on Amazon Fresh, while most sugar brands were listed as out of stock on the DMart Ready app.

DMart and Reliance Retail did not respond to TOI's request for comment, and queries sent by TOI to Blinkit, Swiggy and Amazon also went unanswered.

Supply and price pressure

Citing Crisil Intelligence, TOI reported that closing stock for the 2026 sugar season (October to September) is pegged at 3.9 million metric tonnes, about 25% lower than last year and 40% below the five-year average of 6.5 MMT. This has prompted the government to approve imports of 10 lakh tonnes of raw sugar, the first such move in a decade, per the report.

The tight stock position has already pushed prices higher. The average all-India retail price of sugar stood at Rs 63 per kg earlier this week, up 29% from Rs 48.7 per kg a month earlier, TOI reported citing Crisil data. This is a double blow: consumers will pay more for sugar just as demand peaks during the festive season, while companies already dealing with war-triggered commodity inflation face added cost pressure.

Also read: Sugar prices rise over Rs 1 per kg for second consecutive day to Rs 65 amid festive demand

Prices are expected to keep rising through August and September, though the projected increase has been trimmed to around 7%, down from an earlier estimate of 9%, following the import approval, according to Crisil's note.

An executive at a quick commerce platform told TOI that the industry needs to act responsibly during the shortage and guard against hoarding. The government has also imposed stock limits to prevent hoarding and maintain market availability.

With inputs from TOI