The average sugar price in India has shot up by more than 15 per cent in a month to Rs 55.7 per kilogram on August 20. In Delhi, retail sugar prices have crossed Rs 60 per kg. Prices have climbed more than 20 per cent in a year, according to government data.
It has also limited stocking of sugar by bulk consumers and dealers to stop hoarding, and ordered physical verification of stocks at sugar mills. It attributed the drop in production to Red Rot and Top Borer diseases in sugarcane, as well as waterlogging caused by excess rainfall. This rise has forced the government to allow the duty-free import of 10 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of sugar for the first time in a decade. In a press release, the government said sugar production during the current season is expected to be around 306 lakh metric tonnes (LMT), compared to the initial estimate of around 343 LMT by sugarcane-growing states. The government, on August 21, said around 9 per cent of overall sugar produced in the country has been diverted for ethanol production in 2025-26, adding that nearly three-fourths of the ethanol produced in the country now comes from grains, particularly maize.
“Despite the lower than estimated production, adequate sugar stocks are available in the country to meet domestic demand until the new crushing season begins in October,” the statement said, without specifying the quantity of the stocks.
