{"id":23040,"date":"2026-08-17T10:11:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T04:26:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=23040"},"modified":"2026-08-17T10:11:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T04:26:42","slug":"sugar-price-rises-to-rs-120-per-kg-as-questions-mount-over-disappearing-stock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eng.dragonmedia.com.np\/?p=23040","title":{"rendered":"Sugar Price Rises to Rs 120 per Kg as Questions Mount over Disappearing Stock<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dragon Media Correspondent<\/strong><\/p>\n

Three months after Nepal\u2019s sugar industry assured consumers that the country had sufficient domestic stocks and that factory prices would not rise, the market is now facing complaints of tightening supply and sharply higher retail prices.<\/p>\n

Sugar that had been selling for around Rs 95 per kilogram has climbed to as much as Rs 120 per kilogram in some retail markets, raising questions over where the previously reported stock has gone and whether the shortage is genuine or artificially created.<\/p>\n

The Nepal Sugar Industry Association had issued a statement on Jestha 1, shortly after India imposed restrictions on sugar exports, assuring consumers that Nepal had adequate stocks and there was no need to panic.<\/p>\n

At the time, the Association also said factory prices would not increase.<\/p>\n

Retailers, however, now say they are struggling to obtain sufficient quantities from wholesalers.<\/p>\n

Dev Shrestha, a retailer in Buddhanagar, Kathmandu, said he had received only two sacks of sugar over a 15-day period. According to him, wholesalers are charging between Rs 108 and Rs 110 per kilogram, and the price exceeds Rs 112 by the time transport and handling costs are added.<\/p>\n

Retailers say they are therefore compelled to sell sugar at around Rs 120 per kilogram after adding a small margin.<\/p>\n

Industry groups, wholesalers and retailers are offering conflicting explanations for the shortage and price increase.<\/p>\n

The Nepal Retailers\u2019 Association has alleged that the problem is not a genuine supply shortage but an effort to artificially increase prices.<\/p>\n

Association President Pavitraman Bajracharya claimed that large traders and producers had taken advantage of concerns surrounding India\u2019s export restrictions to increase prices at the upper end of the supply chain.<\/p>\n

He alleged that supply was being restricted ahead of the festival season so that sugar could later be released at higher prices.<\/p>\n

Wholesalers, meanwhile, have directed their criticism toward sugar producers.<\/p>\n

Some traders in Kathmandu have accused a small number of major sugar mills of controlling supply and creating an artificial shortage. They have also alleged that some producers are demanding higher actual payments while issuing invoices for lower amounts.<\/p>\n

Sanjay Kumar Phuyal, a wholesale trader in Balaju, said factory prices in Kathmandu had earlier ranged from Rs 92 to Rs 96 per kilogram but had risen significantly within a short period.<\/p>\n

He also questioned the pricing policy of the state-owned Salt Trading Corporation, alleging that an increase in the price of existing stocks had provided private producers with further room to raise prices.<\/p>\n

Sugar producers have rejected allegations that they are withholding stocks.<\/p>\n

Shashikant Agrawal, president of the Sugar Producers\u2019 Association, said there was no real shortage in the market and suggested that irregularities could instead be occurring at the trading level.<\/p>\n

He said factories were selling what they had produced and held in stock.<\/p>\n

However, the Association has not yet released updated consolidated figures showing exactly how much sugar remains with factories nationwide.<\/p>\n

Everest Sugar Mill has also rejected accusations that producers are deliberately withholding supply.<\/p>\n

Its financial general manager, Bimal Chandra Thakur, said the company was continuing to release available stocks into the market. He added, however, that the mill now had only around 15,000 quintals of sugar remaining and would have no stock left once that amount was sold.<\/p>\n

That claim has raised a larger question.<\/p>\n

According to figures released by the Nepal Sugar Industry Association in early Jestha, 13 sugar mills operating during the 2082\/83 crushing season had produced around 190,870 metric tonnes of sugar.<\/p>\n

As of Baisakh 28, the Association said the mills alone still held around 108,000 metric tonnes in stock.<\/p>\n

It also estimated that traders held another 20,000 tonnes, while between 60,000 and 70,000 tonnes of imported sugar was available in the market.<\/p>\n

At the time, the Association explicitly stated that domestic supply and stocks were sufficient and that factory prices would not immediately increase.<\/p>\n

The current claim that stocks are close to exhaustion, together with tightening market supply, has therefore created a clear discrepancy with the figures presented three months earlier.<\/p>\n

Consumer advocates argue that the government should now conduct a detailed inspection of actual consumption, factory inventories, wholesale storage and the volume released into the market.<\/p>\n

Without such verification, it remains difficult to determine whether the current shortage is the result of normal consumption, weak supply management or deliberate withholding.<\/p>\n

Concerns have also increased because a large portion of the sugar quota made available by India has yet to enter Nepal.<\/p>\n

India had approved the export of 25,000 metric tonnes of sugar to Nepal in September 2025. So far, the Food Management and Trading Company has reportedly imported only around 1,000 tonnes.<\/p>\n

Although the remaining quota can still be imported until September 30, 2026, there is uncertainty over whether enough sugar will arrive before the major festival season.<\/p>\n

Demand for sugar usually rises sharply during Dashain, Tihar and Chhath. If domestic stocks are genuinely low and imports remain delayed, additional upward pressure on prices could follow.<\/p>\n

The central issue for the government is therefore no longer simply whether sugar is available in shops.<\/p>\n

It must establish what happened to the stock described as \u201csufficient\u201d only three months ago, identify where supply is being constrained, and determine whether the present price increase reflects market fundamentals or artificial scarcity.<\/p>\n

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