Anakapalli jaggery traders in low spirits over hooch raids

Jaggery purchases have slowed down at Anakapalli in Andhra Pradesh, the second-largest jaggery market in the country, over the last 14 days owing to frequent raids conducted by the excise department on illicit liquor manufacturers in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Nearly 80 per cent of the jaggery that arrives at the Anakapalli market is black jaggery, the main raw material used in the manufacture of illicit liquor in Orissa and some parts of Andhra Pradesh.

The raids have resulted in a decline in jaggery purchases, resulting in prices falling by Rs 2,000-4,000 per load. If the situation continues, prices may dip further, traders feel.

Traders at the Anakapalli market stocked about 2,400 loads (10 tonne per load) of jaggery in the 2004-05 season compared with 1,800 loads stocked in the previous season.

"Ten days back, we sold a load of jaggery at around Rs 1.50 lakh. With the decline in jaggery consumption, prices plummeted to Rs 1.46 lakh," K Buchi Raju, a jaggery trader, said.

Despite traders clearing around 1,000 loads of jaggery stocks at about Rs 1.50 lakh per load in the last two months, 1,400 loads were still lying in the cold storage unit, Raju said. New jaggery stocks will be arriving at the market from August before which traders want to clear the old stocks, he added.

"We are expecting a few buyers from Orissa next week. If the demand is not up to our expectations, existing prices may fall to a new-low," he said.

The market hs, however, registered a 28 per cent growth in jaggery arrivals in 2004-05 season. Close to 40 lakh lumps (15 kg per lump) arrived at the market in the 2004-05 season compared with 39 lakh lumps in the previous season, thus, posting a growth of about 28 per cent. Raju said jaggery producers received the highest price in the history of Anakapalli market during 2004-05.

"Traders paid, on an average, Rs 110 per 10 kg in 2004-05 season compared with Rs 90-95 per 10 kg paid in the previous season," he said.

---

Queasy trade

• Prices fell Rs 2000-4000 as 80% demand came from bootleggers
• Traders at the Anakapalli market stocked about 2,400 loads (10 tonne per load) of jaggery in the 2004-05 season compared with 1,800 loads stocked in the previous season
• Traders fear prices may dip further in near future