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‘Poor bear the impact’: Sugar prices soar in India, souring festive season
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xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogleAdd Al Jazeera on GoogleinfoIndia’s sweets sector is worth more than $1.1bn with festive season sales accounting for more than 40 percent of annual revenue [Wasim Nabi/ Al Jazeera]By Muheet Ul IslamPublished On 17 Sep 202617 Sep 2026Jai Krishan, a 43-year-old labourer from Bihar in northern India, has saved 15,000 rupees ($160) to travel home from Indian-administered Kashmir, where he works, to celebrate Diwali with his family in November.
Each year, he buys boxes of sweets — laddu, barfi and kaju katli — to take home as gifts for his family and friends. He spends about $35 just on sweets for Diwali, he says, as he prepares afternoon tea for himself and his roommates in their rented accommodation in the Hawal area of Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir’s largest city.
“For someone from a lower-middle-class family, this is a lot of money. But Diwali is one of the most important festivals for Hindus and you cannot skip celebrating it,” he says.
This year, though, Krishan fears he may have to cut back on other purchases — such as toys and clothes — to keep his limited budget under control. The price of sugar has risen sharply in recent months, with retail prices reaching as high as 75 rupees ($0.79) per kilogramme (2.2 pounds) — up from 40 rupees in September 2025 — in some markets, raising concerns that the cost of sweets could also increase.
“I can reduce my spending on clothes or other things, but I cannot return home without bringing sweets for my family,” Krishan said.
The price rise comes as India enters its festival season. Celebrations begin in late August with festivals such as Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam, before gathering pace in October and November with Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra and Diwali, popularly known as the festival of lights.
India’s sweets sector is worth more than $1.1bn, with peak festive sales accounting for more than 40 percent of annual revenue. Traditional sweets can contain 30 to 60 percent sugar by weight, making sugar a major ingredient. India is the world’s largest consumer and second-largest producer of sugar.
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来源：Al Jazeera Africa (https://www.aljazeera.com/africa/)
原文链接：https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2026/9/17/poor-bear-the-impact-sugar-prices-soar-in-india-souring-festive-season?traffic_source=rss
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发表于 2026-9-12 15:04:13