Pune: Rising sugar prices are putting pressure on tea stalls, bakeries, sweet shops and other small food businesses in Pune, with vendors increasingly passing higher input costs on to consumers as retail sugar prices reach Rs 70-80 per kg in several markets, Pune Mirror reported.
The impact is particularly visible in tea stalls, where a cup that was commonly sold for Rs 10 is now increasingly priced at Rs 15. Vendors said the sharp increase in sugar prices, along with higher costs of other ingredients, has made it difficult to maintain earlier prices.
Sugar is a key ingredient in a wide range of products, including sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolates, cold beverages, ice creams and several homemade food items. As a result, higher sugar prices are raising production costs across small food businesses.
Tea vendors are also facing higher costs for milk and tea powder. Buffalo milk is selling at nearly Rs 80 per litre, while tea powder has reached around Rs 400 per kg. The recent increase in commercial LPG cylinder prices has added further pressure on operating costs.
Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to changes in sugar prices because many buy ingredients regularly rather than maintaining large inventories. Unlike large food companies, they often do not have the financial capacity to stock raw materials in bulk when prices are lower.
Vendors said they have tried to absorb part of the increase rather than pass the entire burden on to customers. However, continued increases in sugar prices are making it increasingly difficult to sustain existing selling prices.
The rise in sugar prices is providing some relief to sugar mills and the wider sugar industry, but downstream businesses that depend heavily on sugar are facing tighter profit margins.
Shopkeepers fear that if prices of sugar based products continue to rise, consumers may reduce purchases, affecting daily sales and overall business turnover.