A mixed trend is visible in the sweets market ahead of Raksha Bandhan. Despite a surge in the cost of ingredients needed for sweets, some shop owners are absorbing the pressure, deferring major price revisions until Diwali.
A few others, however, said they had no choice but to increase the rates immediately.
The sugar price has increased from ₹ 45 to ₹ 66-70 per kg. Silver foil prices surged from ₹ 800 to ₹ 1,800 per handful of sheets. Almonds and pistachios saw an increase from ₹ 700-800 to ₹ 1,000-1,200 and ₹ 3,000 to ₹ 4,000 per kg, respectively. Additionally, the price of commercial LPG cylinders has risen from ₹ 1,700 to ₹ 2,800, in addition to increases in the prices of milk, gram flour, refined flour, and ghee. “If the pressure on milk and chhena persists, a maximum ₹ 40 per kg hike will be made on khoya and ghee sweets (with the price going up to) ₹ 840 from ₹ 800, chhena sweets to ₹ 760 from ₹ 720 and kaju barfi to ₹ 1,440 from ₹ 1,400 — as local clientele limits the scope for higher rates.
The owners of major sweet shops unanimously said the market is dealing with an increase in prices of key ingredients. “The increase in the price is technically impacting our profit ratios, but we generally increase prices once a year, so we are trying not to raise prices as far as possible,” Gupta said. We are also resisting an increase in prices of chocolates until Diwali,” said Anil Vermani, owner of Rajlaxmi Sweets.
