Visakhapatnam: The Anakapalli jaggery market, the country’s second-largest, has begun the new season with record prices for fresh jaggery, benefiting both farmers and traders. The newly arrived coloured jaggery is being sold at ₹6,090 per 100 kg, but supplies remain limited compared to growing demand. The market typically records an annual turnover of ₹50 crore, reports The Times of India.
Preparations for the season usually start after Dasara. In the first two days, around 900 jaggery lumps were brought to the market. Until recently, only stored jaggery was available, but the arrival of the fresh batch has renewed activity in the market. Traders report high demand from Odisha and West Bengal, with exports also moving through Anakapalli, according to Malla Srinivasa Rao.
“Currently, supply is not meeting demand since the season has just started. We expect more orders by the second week of November. However, declining sugarcane cultivation has reduced jaggery production in recent years,” he said.
The Anakapalli market once handled over 20 lakh lumps annually, but this has fallen to 10 lakh lumps. Market turnover, which previously reached ₹100 crore, has now dipped below ₹50 crore. The decline is linked to shrinking sugarcane farming in Andhra Pradesh, particularly in the North Andhra districts, due to rising input costs, labour shortages, and the closure of several sugar factories. The area under sugarcane cultivation in the state has dropped from 1.25 lakh hectares to below 40,000 hectares.
The state’s only cooperative sugar factory, the Govada Sugar Factory, is also facing severe financial difficulties. “The market yard used to see around 14,000 lumps per day, but now the number has fallen below 8,000,” said trader Konatala Ravi.
