slug: Pre-Festival Cost SurgeAhmedabad: Sugar prices have surged past Rs 60 per kg in wholesale markets, shocking sweetmakers, beverage companies, and ice cream manufacturers just as demand begins rising ahead of Rakshabandhan and other festivals.The cost spike over the past month has prompted the central govt to issue guidelines for bulk users, while industry bodies in Gujarat are seeking intervention to stabilise supplies and curb what they describe as speculative pressure.Traders in Ahmedabad said wholesale rates have moved into a band that is squeezing both manufacturers and retail buyers. “In the city’s wholesale market, sugar is ranging from Rs 60 to Rs 70 per kg depending on the quality,” said Hiten Shah, president of Juna Madhupura Vepari Mahajan.For mithai and farsan businesses, the timing of the cost surge is particularly vexing as they are already dealing with elevated prices of ghee, edible oil, dry fruits, and milk.“All the input costs have increased and now sugar prices have affected the costing,” said Kamlesh Kandoi, president of the Gujarat Mithai and Farsan Association. “Many shops increased prices around 5% a few days ago due to higher input costs. If sugar prices remain high, there will be another hike in sweet prices just ahead of the festival season.”Manufacturers said smaller outlets are trying to hold market share by trimming margins, but larger brands are evaluating price revisions to protect profitability. Industry sources said the combination of higher working-capital needs and uncertainty in supplies is forcing companies to reassess inventories and procurement cycles.Gujarat’s food processing industry has asked for urgent measures, including tighter monitoring to deter artificial shortages and speculative trading, a priority supply window for registered MSMEs, and calibrated stockholding norms.The sector says the rapid escalation has disrupted pricing plans across ice creams, frozen dairy products, beverages, confectionery, and traditional sweets.The impact varies by product category. Ankit Chona, managing director of Hocco Ice Creams, said sugar accounts for about 5% of the company’s ice cream cost structure.“Even if raw material prices go up substantially, the impact on revenue would be around 0.2–0.3%,” Chona said, adding that categories such as candies, mithai, and confectionery face a sharper hit because sugar forms a larger portion of their input basket.Ice cream makers noted that sugar is not only a sweetener but also a functional ingredient affecting texture and stability. “Sugar is a principal raw material in conventional ice cream and kulfi manufacturing for critical roles in freezing-point control and ice crystal management, and stability,” said Bhupat Bhuva, chairman of the Gujarat Ice Cream Manufacturers Association.He added that frequent changes to maximum retail prices are hard to execute in a competitive market, leading to margin erosion and pressure on affordability.Restaurants and bakeries said the sugar spike is adding to broader cost inflation. “We will have to increase prices,” said restaurateur Lester D’Souza, who also runs a bakery and confectionery chain.
