The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Jaggery price at all-time high

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jan 14, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Jaggery price at all-time high

By Santosh Patnaik

VISAKHAPATNAM: The jaggery market in Anakapalle, the second largest in the country after Hapur, is humming with activity with the prices reaching an all-time high.

During this season, which began in July-August, the farmers are receiving a better price compared to last year. With more arrivals during January-February and heavy demand for exports to West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra, it is now fetching, on an average, Rs.130 per lump of 10 kg. (called `dimma' in local parlance).

Now the price of special grade jaggery has stabilised at Rs.120. There is no fall in the prices of black jaggery, which is fetching Rs.105 to Rs.110 per lump.

The market had received 33 lakh lumps last year. Owing to a bumper sugarcane crop this season, it is expected to produce an additional quantity of seven lakh lumps. At present, on an average 40,000 lumps are being sold in the market.

Owing to shortfall in production elsewhere, jaggery was sold at Rs.170 per lump last September, which continued for some time.

The prices of jaggery remained highly fluctuating throughout the year depending on demand and supply gap.

`Encouraging trend'

"The present trend is quite encouraging. Despite good arrivals from this month, the farmers are able to get a good price,'' says the Anakapalle Merchants Association (AMA) honorary secretary, Konathala Laxminarayana Rao.

Sugarcane is grown on a large extent in Anakapalle, Munagapaka, Kasimkota, Chodavaram, Narsipatnam areas and Jami (Vizianagaram).

Though the crushing season at Govada and other sugar factories has started, the farmers are preferring to produce jaggery due to easy availability of finance.

Despite high production cost and rise in demand for sugar in the market, the farmers are preferring to take finance from local agents and send their stocks for auctioning at the market yard under the supervision of the Anakapalle Market Committee.

The agents give them finance in instalments right from growing sugarcane to production of jaggery. Some farmers specialise only in producing jaggery and procure sugarcane from others. Production up

According to a conservative estimate, the jaggery market had a turnover of Rs.50 crores last year and the traders had to pay a market cess of Rs.1.50 crores.

"Going by the trend, this year we have to pay more market cess due to the good demand for jaggery,'' says Laxminarayana Rao.

Even as jaggery production has remained stable in Anakapalle, it has come down drastically at Tenali, Tadepalligudem, Mandapeta, Kamareddy and Chittoor due to a variety of reasons like continuous crop failure.

With good rainfall, jaggery production is expected to be good next year also.

However, the traders are a worried lot due to increased cost of production of jaggery and better returns by selling cane to the sugar factories.

``Of course, there is uncertainty regarding the trade as a section of the farmers may give up jaggery production in future due to encouraging price available for sugarcane.

For instance, the Govada Sugar Factory is at present offering Rs.980 per tonne of sugarcane compared to last year's Rs.800,'' says a jaggery merchant.

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