Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab hit the most by sugar price hike

Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab hit the most by sugar cost hike Closely monitoring the situation, states the Centre and promises steps to ease the burden; it notes rise in costs cannot be attributed to ethanol.

Key points

• On Friday (August 21), Odisha registered the highest cost for sugar – ₹ 64.72 for a kilogram.
• Experts are of the view that if there is more supply of sugar in the market, the rates will come down.
• It is incorrect to attribute the recent growth in sugar costs to diversion of sugar for ethanol production.
• It remarked sugar costs were rising globally too, maintaining that diversion of excess sugar towards ethanol had improved the financial health of sugar mills.

As regarding 18 States and Union Territories witnessed an rise of ₹10 to ₹18 for a kilogram of sugar within one year, the Union administration remarked on Friday (August 21, 2026) it was closely monitoring the situation and had taken steps to stable the rates. On Friday (August 21), Odisha registered the highest cost for sugar – ₹ 64.72 for a kilogram. It was ₹17.80 higher than the same date of 2025, followed by Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. Other than Odisha, consumers from Assam, Delhi, Goa, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Punjab, Tripura and West Bengal additionally paid more than ₹60 for a kilogram of sugar on Friday (August 21). The national average cost was ₹58.23. Compared to the same date of last month, Madhya Pradesh witnessed an growth of ₹15.70 per kilogram, followed by Punjab, where the rise was ₹14.67 per kilogram of sugar. Compared to Friday (August 21) of last week, Madhya Pradesh saw the sharpest growth of ₹11.82, followed by Odisha, where the hike is ₹10.67.

For context, the Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution remarked in an official note that sugar costs had rose in recent weeks, from ₹48.18 per kilogram on July 20, to ₹55.70 per kg on August 20. "The government is closely monitoring the situation and has taken a series of measures to ensure adequate availability of sugar and stable prices for consumers, " the statement remarked, and maintained that rise in sugar costs could not be attributed to ethanol. "It is incorrect to attribute the recent growth in sugar costs to diversion of sugar for ethanol production. In fact, the share of sugar diverted for ethanol has declined from around 12% in 2022-23 to around 9% in 2025-26. Moreover, almost three-fourths of the ethanol produced in the country now comes from grains, particularly maize, " the statement went on.

Experts are of the view that if there is more supply of sugar in the market, the rates will come down. Principal Scientist at the Indian Institute of Sugarcane Research, an Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institution based in Lucknow, Lal Singh Gangwar informed The Hindu that an rise of 10% in the retail rates of sugar around the festive season employed to be normal. He adds that the input cost for farmers and sugar mills have additionally gone up in the season as of the growth in diesel and fertilizer costs due to the war in West Asia. He additionally ruled out any link of ethanol production and sugar costs. "Last year, the government has put a cap that no sugar industry can use sugarcane juice for the production of ethanol, " he remarked.

Notably, the administration went on that the present growth in sugar costs was due to a combination of factors, including lower-than-expected domestic production, rose demand ahead of the festive season, weather-related damage to the sugarcane crop, tightening global sugar supplies and speculation and hoarding by some sections of the industry. "Sugar production during the current season is expected to be around 306 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT), compared to the initial estimate of around 343 LMT by sugarcane-growing States, " the release continued.

It remarked sugar costs were rising globally too, maintaining that diversion of excess sugar towards ethanol had improved the financial health of sugar mills. It remarked a stock limit of 400 tonnes had been imposed on sugar dealers nationwide from August 1 to November 30. "From September 1, bulk consumers will not be permitted to hold sugar stocks exceeding 15 days of consumption, " the release remarked, adding that the administration had additionally decided to permit duty-free import of 10 LMT of raw sugar to further augment domestic availability.

For now, odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab hit the most by sugar price hike remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.