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- Sugar Shortage Crisis; Blinkit Zepto Swiggy Online Purchase Limit | Sugar Price Hike
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Now customers will be able to buy only 2 to 5 kg of sugar at a time through quick-commerce apps like Blinkit, Zepto. This decision has been taken after the decrease in sugar supply and sudden rise in retail prices just before the beginning of the festive season in the country.
According to the Consumer Affairs Department, on August 26, the average retail price of sugar in the country has reached Rs 65.05 per kg. Just a month ago on July 26, it was Rs 48 per kg. That means sugar has become more expensive by 35.5% in 30 days.
DMart and Reliance Retail also imposed capping
In the offline market, supermarkets like DMart and Reliance Retail have set a limit of 2 to 3 kg of sugar purchase per customer. According to a senior executive of major Chinese brands, retailers are taking this step to prevent hoarding and make stock available to every customer.
What is the limit on which app/store?
- Blinkit: Maximum 5 kg at one time
- Swiggy Instamart: 2 packets of 1 kg each or 1 pack of 5 kg
- BigBasket: Maximum 6 kg (different brands)
- DMart/Reliance: 2 to 3 kg per customer
Sugar became costlier by 34% in wholesale market also
Even in the wholesale market, the price of sugar has increased from Rs 45 per kg to Rs 60.36 per kg. According to PIB data, sugar prices had increased by 16% between July 20 and August 20, which further increased till the last week of August.
3 reasons for increasing prices and decreasing supply
- Estimate of decline in production: The Indian Sugar and Bio-Energy Manufacturers Association (ISMA) has estimated the country’s sugar production after ethanol blending to be around 279 lakh tonnes for the 2025-26 marketing year.
- Domestic demand high: The annual domestic consumption of sugar in India is about 280 lakh tonnes. There was an opening stock of around 50 lakh tonnes at the beginning of the session, but supply pressure has increased due to the fear of new production being less than consumption.
- Closing stock may be less: According to ISMA, by the end of September the closing stock in the country will reduce to just 35 lakh tonnes, which is much less than in previous years.
General budget will deteriorate during festive season
The demand for sweets and sugar-based dishes increases significantly during Rakshabandhan and upcoming festivals like Ganeshotsav, Navratri and Diwali. At such a time, the increase in sugar prices by up to Rs 17 per kg will directly affect the monthly ration budget of common families.
10 lakh tonnes of sugar will be imported, instructions to stop hoarding
To reduce the price of sugar, the Central Government has approved the import of 10 lakh tonnes of raw sugar last week.
Along with this, stock limit has been fixed for big customers who buy more sugar.
The government has given strict instructions to all the states to increase checking in the markets so that hoarding and speculation of sugar can be completely stopped.
Restriction on keeping stock more than 15 days
The government has imposed stock holding limits on sugar traders and dealers. Under the new rules, dealers dealing in more than 10 metric tons of sugar in a month cannot store stock for more than 15 days of consumption.
Apart from this, three more steps have been taken…
- Import of sugar has also been made tax free.
- Exports have been banned till 30 September 2026.
- Stock limit fixed for dealers at 400 tonnes till November 30.
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