look news india
A very big and positive news has come out which will provide relief to the kitchen budget for the common consumers across the country. Sugar prices, which were continuously skyrocketing for the last few weeks, have now registered a huge decline, due to which the common man has heaved a sigh of relief before the festive season. The ex-mill prices of sugar which had suddenly skyrocketed to Rs 70 per kg a month and a half ago, have now fallen back to the level of Rs 44 to Rs 45 per kg due to the strict administrative policies of the government, crackdown on hoarders and release of excess stock in the market. This sudden and huge fall in sugar prices clearly shows that the game of artificial bullishness in the market has now completely ended. Although the process of reaching the reduced prices from wholesale mills to retail markets is still taking some time, experts believe that within the coming seven to ten days, retail consumers in every corner of the country will start getting sugar at very cheap rates, which will provide great economic relief to the common citizens who are facing the brunt of inflation.
#Heavy fall in ex-mill price, bullish phase ends in wholesale market
During the months of July and August, when there were some apprehensions regarding the supply of sugar in the country’s markets, taking advantage of it, large bulk consumers and speculative traders had stored more sugar than required. Due to this artificial hoarding, there was a huge reduction in the open stock in the market and ex-mill prices, which used to be around Rs 44 per kg on normal days, suddenly increased to a record level of Rs 70 per kg. But now the situation has completely changed. According to the latest official data of September 5, the ex-mill price of M-grade sugar in major sugar producing states like Maharashtra and Karnataka has come down to Rs 4,350 and Rs 4,380 per quintal respectively i.e. around Rs 43 to 44 per kg. Thus, the huge increase in sugar prices of about Rs 26 to 27 per kg during the boom period has completely ended and the market is now rapidly moving towards normalcy.
#It may take 7 to 10 days to get cheap sugar in retail markets
Although the prices of sugar at the mill gate or ex-mill level have halved and the prices have fallen from Rs 70 to Rs 44-45 per kg, despite this, sugar is still being sold at around Rs 60 to Rs 63 per kg in the general retail markets of the country. Regarding this difference, experts say that the effect of fall in wholesale market prices usually takes a natural time of seven to ten days to reach the retail shops. The main reason for this delay is that when the prices in the market were sky high, the retailers and local businessmen had filled their shops by purchasing old stock at expensive prices. Any trader avoids selling old goods below its cost, so consumers will have to wait for a while until the old expensive stock is completely sold out and the new cheap goods from the mills reach the retail counter. However, sugar prices will come back to normal levels in all retail markets of the country within the coming week.
#Market turned upside down due to strict decisions of central government and reduction in stock limit
The most important reason behind this sudden fall in sugar prices has been the very strict and decisive steps taken on time by the Central Government and the Food Ministry. To curb hoarding, the government has limited the stock limit of sugar for bulk consumers and big companies to a maximum of 15 days only from September 1. Apart from this, the stock limit for dealers and big traders is also being reduced from 4,000 quintals to 2,000 quintals directly from September 15. After this strict instruction of the government, the traders and stockists who had stored sugar in huge quantities were forced to sell their goods in the market, due to which the supply suddenly increased and the prices came down drastically. Additionally, the government’s decision to import about one million tonnes of raw sugar also completely dashed the hopes of speculators who were looking for prices to rise further.
#Urge to start crushing season soon and discuss the impact on sugarcane recovery
To make the future supply of sugar in the market more smooth and transparent, the Central Government has made a special request to the major sugar producing states of the country to start the upcoming crushing season well in advance. However, agriculture and industry experts also believe that if the crushing season is started much ahead of schedule, the natural maturity of the sugarcane may be affected. Due to short harvesting time, the percentage of sugar recovery in sugarcane may fall and the total weight of sugarcane may also decrease by about 10 to 15 percent at the farmers’ level. Despite this, the priority of the Government is to ensure that there is no shortage of essential food items for consumers in any part of the country and that sugar prices in the domestic market always remain stable and under control.
#Big relief to common man’s budget before the festive season
Various major festivals are about to begin across the country from the last phase of September and early weeks of October, which include major festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali. In Indian culture and food, there is a huge increase in the demand for sugar and sweets made from it during festivals. In such a situation, this tremendous fall in the wholesale prices of sugar just before the festive season is no less than a big gift for crores of middle class families and housewives of the country. Now people will be able to prepare for festivals in their homes without any inflationary pressure. This far-sighted and market-friendly policy of the government has once again proved that if strict administrative steps are taken on time, the tricks of hoarders and profiteers can be easily foiled.