Witnessing an unusual spike in price, the jaggery market at Anakapalle is going through an intense buying spree after Sankranti.
The market generally attracts a high price during Sankranti owing to the festival demand but after that drops.
This year, a 10-kg lump cost ₹370 during the festival season. After that, much against market wisdom that the price might dip to ₹350 or ₹340, it had risen and touched an unprecedented ₹370 for lowest quality. For the best variety it went up to ₹400.
“Usually we get around 15,000 to 17,000 lumps a day on an average around this time of the season. But having never seen such a price, farmers are bringing in more and more quantities and at present it is 27,000 to 29,000 lumps,” says president of the Anakapalle Merchants’ Association K.V. Sarat Kumar.
For one “pakam” (traditional measure for nine lumps of 15 kg each), farmers used to get a take home profit of ₹1,500 but now it has more than doubled, he analysed, adding farmers had never seen such a high price.
Crop failure in
Maharashtra
The buying spree is attributed to the interest shown by traders from Krishna district. The reported sugarcane crop failure of almost 60 % in Maharashtra could be a contributing factor.
However, as against the usual market condition of 50% each going to direct sale and storage, only 20 % is going to sale and 80 per cent to cold storage, he says. Stocks account for about 6750 tonnes so far at the Anakapalle market with an annual turnover of about ₹130 crore.
Another reason for low direct sale is that the Uttar Pradesh market is quoting at about ₹60 less than that of the Anakapalle price.
