| Local sugar prices have gone up by an average of Rs. 10 to Rs. 15 per kilo, traders said yesterday.
At present a kilo of sugar is sold in the wholesale market for Rs. 95, Old Moor Street Association president P.Sundaram said.
“In the first week of January the price of sugar was Rs. 85 per kilo and it went up to Rs. 90 per kilo. At present we are selling at Rs. 95 per kilo. We may see an increase once the present stock is over,” he told the Sunday Times.
He said that last week a metric tonne of sugar was sold for US $ 600 in the world market but by yesterday it had risen to US$ 775 per metric tonne. He said that it would increase to US $ 800 in the coming days.
“There is a severe shortage of sugar in the world market as the demand for sugar cane is increasing,” he said.
The Sunday Times learns that Sri Lankans consume around 450,000 tons of sugar annually and that 90 percent of this sugar is imported.
Pettah Traders Association president S.P.Samy said that although it was estimated that India would experience a shortage of eight million tonness of sugar in 2010, in reality there is a shortfall of 10 million tonnes.
He said that not only India but countries like Indonesia and Pakistan are too experiencing this shortage.
Several retail stores when contacted said that at present they sell sugar at Rs. 98 per kilo.
“We are trying our best to sell sugar at a low rate. But the price has been increasing from Rs. 90 per kilo to Rs. 98 per kilo within the last week,” one retailer said. |
E-mail
