Sugar shortage? Blinkit, Instamart, Zepto impose purchase limits as sugar gets costlier
PTC News Desk: The festive season this year could be a little less sweet for Indian households with the rising sugar prices. Consumers are likely to face a double squeeze with paying more on sugar while also finding limit on how much they can buy with quick-commerce platforms and offline retailers capping purchases.
Quick-commerce platforms like Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto have imposed quantity limits on some sugar products, restricting how many packs a customer can add to an order.
The restrictions however vary across different platforms. For instance on Blinkit sugar packets carry limits on the number of packs that can be purchased, while the app also flags limited availability for certain products.
Also Read: Haryanvi Singer-YouTube Ankit Balyan shot dead outside gym, 20 rounds fired
On Swiggy Instamart, a listing for Supreme Harvest Crystal Sugar showed a cap of two 1-kg packs per order.
Capping on offline stores too
The purchase limits are not only affecting online shoppers but have also reached physical stores.
Large retail chains such as DMart and Reliance have reportedly limited sugar purchases to around 2–3 kg per customer at some outlets, according to the Times of India. This means customers are facing restrictions whether they buy sugar online through quick-delivery services or visit supermarkets.
The restrictions come at an important time, as the festive season usually leads to a major increase in sugar demand. Families buy sugar to prepare sweets and traditional dishes, while sweet shops, bakeries and other food businesses also increase their purchases.
Why are sugar prices rising?
The increase in sugar prices has led the government to take steps to improve supplies and prevent hoarding.
The government has changed the rules for duty-free imports of raw sugar, giving importers additional time to process the imported sugar into refined sugar and sell it in India.
Under the original notification issued on August 20, the government allowed 1 million tonnes of raw sugar to be imported duty-free under a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) until October 31, 2026.
Importers were required to convert the raw sugar into white or refined sugar and sell it in India by October 31.
The government has now revised this rule.
Under the new guidelines, importers will have up to two months from the date they file the Bill of Entry to refine the imported raw sugar and sell it in the domestic market.
The decision comes as sugar prices in India have risen sharply. The government aims to increase sugar supplies, prevent hoarding and discourage speculative buying.
- With inputs from agencies
