Jaggery prices shoot up on short supply

Jaggery prices in the Anakapalli market shot up by more than 100 per cent compared with last December on short supply.

Last year, traders purchased 10 kg high grade jaggery at Rs 100 and black jaggery at Rs 85-90. The same is now ruling at Rs 227 and 180 respectively, said KLN Rao, honorary secretary, Anakapalli Jaggery Merchants Association.

Jaggery arrivals to the Anakapalli market in December was expected to be 20,000-25,000 lumps (each lump is 15 kg) a day. But this year, the arrivals have fallen to 10,000-12,000 lumps a day due to decline in the sugarcane crop area in the region, he told Business Standard.

“Jaggery production in Uttar Pradesh will start from February. Therefore, traders from Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand are depending on the Anakapalli market for immediate jaggery stocks,” he said.

During the last fortnight, jaggery prices have appreciated by about 30 per cent due to short supplies as well as rise in demand in view of the ensuing festive season.

The Anakapalli market during 2006-07, received about 4.5 million lumps of jaggery, which declined to 3.2 million lumps in 2007-08. The arrivals are expected to fall further to about 2.2 million lumps this year.

Usually local traders store 200-300 loads (each load is 10 tonne) of jaggery in December but with high prices this year, not a single load has been stored, Rao said.

“The present prices are the highest in the 100-year history of the Anakapalli market,” said K Buchi Raju, a jaggery trader here.