Jaggery fetches record price

Buyers shell out as much as 465 for 10 kg

​Visakhapatnam: Jaggery farmers are celebrating the highest ever recorded price of Rs 465 per 10kg jaggery. Since a decade, there was never such a high price recorded in the history for Anakapalle jaggery.

This is the second biggest jaggery market yard in India and the biggest in south India. All the sugar cane grown in the surrounding areas of Anakapalle flows into this market making it the producer of the best quality jaggery in India.

Once upon a time jaggery was considered as a replacement sweetener of sugar due to its lower price. It is now sold at par or with a marginal premium. Today the 10 kg of jaggery gatta (slab) is sold at Rs 465 in the market, whereas the price hike started since January 15th this year.

The base price scenario during 2015-2016 for 10kg of jaggery was at Rs 230 and number one filtered 10kg of jaggery was sold at Rs 320.

Talking to Hans India Reporter, Surisetti Sanyasi Rao Ex President of Kolagarlu Sangam said that the Investors from Amaravati, Guntur, Chittoor and Kamareddy regions are investing in Anakapalle jaggery. Investors are holding a minimum of 25 lorries to maximum of 100 lorries of stocks on their names in the storage godowns.

This is a golden opportunity for the sugarcane farmers of Anakapalle. Srinivas, a sugarcane farmer from Arabpalem village said that he had completed his SSC, as his parents were farmers he also opted for farming, whereas his brother is an undergraduate and working in Hyderabad.

He is helping his father since last five years he said. ‘Since last 3 years we had a typical crisis in the production of sugarcane, even after the crushing companies were closed by the government, the investors and government is helping us with support price to the jaggery.

If the price continues like this, then we can run our families without any hassle for another 2 years’ he felt.

By: Phani Suni