Jaggery traders in Anakapalli are losing Rs 80,000-90,000 on every load (a load contains 10 tonne) of jaggery due to a decline in demand.
Local traders had stocked around 2,000 loads of jaggery from December to April this year and are now finding it difficult to clear their stock, said Anakapalli Jaggery Merchants Association president KLN Rao.
Traders at the Anakapalli market usually stock jaggery from December and sell it from May onwards. This time, they bought jaggery at Rs 30,000 per tonne in December.
The prices then dropped to Rs 24,000 per tonne by May. “As most of the stock was purchased between December and February, our average procurement price stood at Rs 28,000 per tonne. Besides, traders spent another Rs 3,000-4,000 per tonne on expenses like interests, cold storage rentals and other costs,” K Buchi Raju, jaggery trader, said.
But now, as demand has come down, they are selling jaggery at Rs 23,000-24,000 per tonne, Rao said. On an average, daily 8-10 loads of jaggery move from the Anakapalli market. This has now reduced to only 2-3 loads.
“Sugar is available at Rs 25-27 per kg in the open market, but jaggery costs Rs 32-34 per kg. This is the main reason for the decline in demand. Moreover, the excise department has banned the sale of black jaggery, which is also used for making illicit liquor,” Buchi Raju, said.
During 2009-10, traders stocked about 2,000 loads of jaggery, of which they sold just 400-500 loads and the remaining is still lying in cold storage plants. “We are ready to lose Rs 8,000-9,000 per tonne on jaggery stocks, but we should get orders from Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal,” he said.