Jaggery prices at the Kolhapur Agricultural Produce Market Committee decreased by nearly 20% on Wednesday, following a peak of Rs 78 per kg earlier this week. This decline comes as a result of market corrections after an auction disruption that occurred earlier in the week.
Grade-I jaggery fetched Rs 62 per kg and Grade-III jaggery Rs 53 per kg at Wednesday’s auction. On Aug 14, top-quality jaggery fetched Rs 57.5 per kg before jumping almost 36% to an all-time high of Rs 78 per kg in the next auction. Sugar prices have also eased from recent highs, with retail rates hovering around Rs 60 per kg and factory-gate prices at about Rs 56.50 per kg.
There, consumers are unaware that the jaggery they get is almost 90% sugar and, therefore, are cheated as they believe that every jaggery they get from Kolhapur is traditional Kolhapuri jaggery,” he said. Therefore, it is considered healthy compared to sugar. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolhapur | Silver Rate in Kolhapur | Bank Holidays in Kolhapur | Public Holidays in Kolhapur Stay updated with the latest Kolhapur news.
“Sugar had touched Rs 65 per kg at the factory gate and that reflected in jaggery prices too,” said Kolhapur-based jaggery expert B G Patil. Traditional Kolhapuri jaggery, which has a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, is made from fully mature sugar cane juice, according to Patil. However, there is no check on jaggery from Karnataka,” he said.
The price surge had been dramatic. Market experts attributed the rise to soaring sugar prices, claiming much of the jaggery traded at Kolhapur APMC is produced using sugar rather than traditional cane juice. “Most of the jaggery auctioned at Kolhapur APMC goes to Gujarat and Rajasthan . “The jaggery produced from cane juice has immense nutritional value. It has minerals, iron and other nutrients. The Food and Drugs Administration action in Maharashtra has kept check on jaggery making using sugar. Download the TOI App.
The sharp decline came after suppliers reportedly stalled Monday’s scheduled auction in a bid to sustain the unusually high prices recorded on Friday.