Retail sugar prices fell for the first time on Thursday after surging to a record ₹ 65.06 a kg a day earlier, with the Centre’s decision to allow duty-free imports of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar beginning to ease market prices.
Retail Price of Essential Commodities Declines
The all-India average retail price of essential commodities decreased to ₹ 64.33 per kg, down from ₹ 65.06 on Wednesday, as reported by the Consumer Affairs Ministry. This decline follows a notable increase from ₹ 55.73 per kg on August 20 to ₹ 65.06 on August 26.
Prices also remain elevated across several states. The Centre had allowed duty-free imports of 1 million tonnes of raw sugar on August 20, the first such move in nearly a decade, to boost domestic supplies ahead of the festival season as ex-mill prices touched a record high of INR7,100 per 100 kg in some states. The average retail price was ₹ 75.50 a kg in Manipur, ₹ 72.50 in Goa, ₹ 70.14 in Odisha, ₹ 68.18 in Gujarat, ₹ 67.34 in Karnataka, ₹ 67.05 in Maharashtra and ₹ 66.89 in Tamil Nadu. Delhi was at ₹ 64.33, while Punjab was at ₹ 66.07 and Uttar Pradesh at ₹ 64.37.
“Wholesale and mill prices had begun to ease, but retail prices remained sticky as they typically lag behind. The government has attributed the price rise to lower production, weather-related crop damage and higher festive demand, stating that there is no physical shortage and that speculative buying contributed to the surge..
Even though I still doubt whether sufficient quantities are actually available in the market, the wholesale price fall has begun to show up in retail,” Agri expert and founder of HnyB Deepak Pareek said. “While prices have finally broken, a meaningful and sustained relief for consumers will come only when we see real imports arriving or when sugar under advance licences is diverted to the domestic market,” Pareek added.
