Sugar shortage in India: Festive season gets less sweeter! Blinkit, Swiggy Zepto cap order sizes
Sugar shortage in India: Festive season gets less sweeter! Blinkit, Swiggy Zepto cap order sizes
Quick-commerce platforms and offline retailers have capped how much customers can buy per order. For India's middle class, already juggling festive-season expenses, it's one more squeeze at exactly the wrong moment.
Mehak Agarwal
- Aug 27, 2026,
- Updated Aug 27, 2026 11:59 AM IST
Trying to stock up on sugar for the festive season? You might hit a wall. With sugar prices hovering around ₹62 per kg, quick-commerce platforms are restricting purchases. Quick-commerce platforms and offline retailers have capped how much customers can buy per order. For India's middle class, already juggling festive-season expenses, it's one more squeeze at exactly the wrong moment.
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MUST READ | Sugar prices set to ease? ISMA says panic buying caused spike, no actual shortage in India
Sugar's out on Instamart, Blinkit, Zepto
Popular quick-commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart have capped the quantity of sugar and certain sugar products that customers can buy. On Swiggy Instamart, one can order only two 1-kg packs of Supreme Harvest Crystal Sugar.
DON'T MISS | 'No shortage of sugar in UP': CM Yogi Adityanath says state has 7-month supply
On Blinkit, you can order only one 5-kg pack of Whole Farm Grocery Sugar, whereas you can order only one 1-kg pack of Fortune Sugar on Zepto.
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DO CHECKOUT | ‘Onion availability is comfortable…’: Govt says no cause for concern, festive season demand will be met
Limits imposed by offline retailers
Offline retailers such as DMart and Reliance stores have also reportedly imposed limits on sugar purchases at around 2-3 kg per customer at some outlets. "Retailers like DMart and Reliance have capped the quantity of sugar a consumer can purchase at around two or three kgs per person. The same is being done by e-commerce companies," an executive with a top sugar brand was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
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Why are sugar prices rising in India?
Retail sugar prices jumped due to a sharp supply-demand deficit driven by lower-than-expected sugar production, crop diseases and rising festive demand. Initial estimates suggested an output of 343 lakh metric tonnes, but actual production was around 306 LMT.
Sugar production has also been strained due to excess rainfall, waterlogging, and deficient rainfall in key states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, coupled with crop diseases like red rot and top borer. Increased demand for sweets and confectionery ahead of major festivals such as Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, and Diwali has also led to a rise in sugar rates.
What is the government doing?
To control the price surge, the government has banned sugar exports until September 30, 2026. The government has allowed 1 million tonnes of raw sugar imports duty-free under a tariff-rate quota until October 31, 2026.
It also subsequently relaxed the processing deadline, as importers will now get 2 months from the date of filing the bill of entry to refine the raw sugar and sell it domestically. Since July 28, stock limits have been imposed on dealers, as they can't hold more than 400 tonnes of sugar or hold any stock for longer than 30 days.
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From August 13, mills have been asked to report details of any bulk buyer that purchased 500 tonnes or more during 2025-26.
Is ethanol the culprit?
At the start of the season, the industry anticipated that 4.5-5 MT of sugar equivalent would be diverted to ethanol, whereas the actual diversion was around 3 MT, i.e. ethanol absorbed less sugar than initially predicted. Therefore, the government argues that ethanol diversion was not responsible for the recent price rise.
Trying to stock up on sugar for the festive season? You might hit a wall. With sugar prices hovering around ₹62 per kg, quick-commerce platforms are restricting purchases. Quick-commerce platforms and offline retailers have capped how much customers can buy per order. For India's middle class, already juggling festive-season expenses, it's one more squeeze at exactly the wrong moment.
Advertisement
MUST READ | Sugar prices set to ease? ISMA says panic buying caused spike, no actual shortage in India
Sugar's out on Instamart, Blinkit, Zepto
Popular quick-commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto, and Swiggy Instamart have capped the quantity of sugar and certain sugar products that customers can buy. On Swiggy Instamart, one can order only two 1-kg packs of Supreme Harvest Crystal Sugar.
DON'T MISS | 'No shortage of sugar in UP': CM Yogi Adityanath says state has 7-month supply
On Blinkit, you can order only one 5-kg pack of Whole Farm Grocery Sugar, whereas you can order only one 1-kg pack of Fortune Sugar on Zepto.
Advertisement
DO CHECKOUT | ‘Onion availability is comfortable…’: Govt says no cause for concern, festive season demand will be met
Limits imposed by offline retailers
Offline retailers such as DMart and Reliance stores have also reportedly imposed limits on sugar purchases at around 2-3 kg per customer at some outlets. "Retailers like DMart and Reliance have capped the quantity of sugar a consumer can purchase at around two or three kgs per person. The same is being done by e-commerce companies," an executive with a top sugar brand was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
Advertisement
Why are sugar prices rising in India?
Retail sugar prices jumped due to a sharp supply-demand deficit driven by lower-than-expected sugar production, crop diseases and rising festive demand. Initial estimates suggested an output of 343 lakh metric tonnes, but actual production was around 306 LMT.
Sugar production has also been strained due to excess rainfall, waterlogging, and deficient rainfall in key states such as Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, coupled with crop diseases like red rot and top borer. Increased demand for sweets and confectionery ahead of major festivals such as Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi, Dussehra, and Diwali has also led to a rise in sugar rates.
What is the government doing?
To control the price surge, the government has banned sugar exports until September 30, 2026. The government has allowed 1 million tonnes of raw sugar imports duty-free under a tariff-rate quota until October 31, 2026.
It also subsequently relaxed the processing deadline, as importers will now get 2 months from the date of filing the bill of entry to refine the raw sugar and sell it domestically. Since July 28, stock limits have been imposed on dealers, as they can't hold more than 400 tonnes of sugar or hold any stock for longer than 30 days.
Advertisement
From August 13, mills have been asked to report details of any bulk buyer that purchased 500 tonnes or more during 2025-26.
Is ethanol the culprit?
At the start of the season, the industry anticipated that 4.5-5 MT of sugar equivalent would be diverted to ethanol, whereas the actual diversion was around 3 MT, i.e. ethanol absorbed less sugar than initially predicted. Therefore, the government argues that ethanol diversion was not responsible for the recent price rise.
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