PUNE: Jaggery is now about 25-35% cheaper compared to the prices this time last year in Kolhapur and Anakapalli markets because stockists have turned cautious due to the losses they incurred last year. Kolhapur cane farmers who crush their cane for jaggery have started protests complaining of losses. Of the jaggery manufactured in Shahupuri jaggery market of Kolhapur, 80% goes to Gujarat, the top consumer. This year, Gujarat stockists have not procured jaggery till now as they suffered losses last year. “There are no orders from Gujarat as the traders there suffered losses of up to `1 lakh per truck last year,” said Nimesh Ved, former president, Shahupuri Market Association.
Butchi Raju of the Immidisetti Ramkrishniah Sons, Anakapalli, said, “The kind of losses stockists suffered last year is unheard of in the last 50 years. We purchased jaggery at an average rate of `35/kg while the average selling price was `19/kg.”
Post-Sankranti, there is not much demand for the sweetener and low sugar prices are keeping the consumers away from jaggery. “The total arrival till January 15 at the Kolhapur APMC was 13.17 lakh rave (a lump of 30 kg) as against 13.74 rave during the corresponding period of the previous year. The average price this year is `24/kg as against `32/kg last year,” said Kolhapur APMC secretary RT Patil. The supplies are less by 60,000 rave, mainly due to the delay in the beginning of the crushing operations caused by unseasonal rainfall.
The average jaggery price on January 18 in the Anakapalli jaggery market, the second largest jaggery market in the country, was `19/kg as against the average price of `24/kg in the Kolhapur APMC on the same day. The Kolhapur jaggery commands a higher price due to its quality and brand value. Organic jaggery is getting up to `30/kg in Kolhapur.
Rajaram Patil, president, Shree Chhatrapati Shahu Sahakari Gul Kharedi Vikri Sangh (the cooperative of jaggery manufacturers in Kolhapur), said, “Farmers will have to operate the jaggery units even though they are making losses because they have paid labourers. Now we want the government to step in to control the falling cane prices. A farmer who sells cane to sugar mills is getting `2,000/tonne as first advance while a farmer who crushes his cane for jaggery and gets `2,400/quintal for the sweetener spends half of the money on production and transportation cost.”
