Mumbai, Aug 22 — The Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, on Saturday claimed that the Union Government's ethanol-blended petrol (E20) policy is the primary catalyst for the current supply shortage and sharp rise in domestic sugar prices.
It pointed out that the spike has sparked widespread public dissatisfaction ahead of the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri festivals, with retail sugar rates surging by Rs 17 in the last 15 days to reach Rs 65–Rs 70 per kilogram.
The Thackeray camp, in the party mouthpiece Saamana editorial, said that the core issue stems from the diversion of sugarcane towards ethanol manufacturing to meet the government's target of 20% ethanol-blended petrol. Despite annual sugar production increasing from 25.8 million tonnes last year to 27.6 million tonnes this year, domestic availability remains inadequate to cover total demand alongside ethanol processing commitments.
The editorial said that sugarcane typically processed for refined sugar is increasingly being routed to produce ethanol under government incentives, directly constricting the domestic sugar supply.
"As usual, the ruling authorities have woken up late. Now, the government claims to have taken strict measures against the sugar price hike, tightening rules and restrictions against sugar hoarding. Why do the government's 'strict' and 'tough' measures regarding inflation and price hikes always arrive a day late and a dollar short? Why can't the government foresee that a sugar shortage might occur in the country, causing a price blow to the public?" asked the editorial.
The Saamana editorial characterised recent government measures—such as tightening anti-hoarding limits on traders and proposing ethanol production restrictions—as delayed actions that failed to foresee the market shortfall. According to the editorial, new regulatory limits restrict traders from holding more than 10% excess stock for longer than 15 days. Additionally, plans are underway to import 1 million tonnes of sugar to stabilise domestic supply.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena said that if policymakers in government lack the basic foresight to realise that an ethanol policy would cause shortages of sugar and other grains, hitting the public with inflation, they should be deemed unfit to govern. Due to their incompetent governance, not just sugar, but jaggery prices have also skyrocketed. Is this price hike benefiting sugarcane farmers? Not at all; as usual, the profits are going straight into the pockets of traders.
"The price increase is not limited to refined sugar; jaggery (gur) prices have also escalated sharply. Furthermore, the financial benefit of these higher prices is largely accruing to market intermediaries and traders rather than sugarcane farmers. The surge in sugar costs adds to broader inflationary pressures currently impacting household essentials, including fuel, dairy, onions, potatoes, and public transportation fares," observed the editorial.
The Thackeray camp said that the Modi government confidently boasts about a five-trillion-dollar economy, yet the 'Vishwaguru' lacks the simple foresight to see that their own ethanol policy would create a sugar shortage, causing unprecedented price hikes that make the common man's Ganesh and Navratri festivals bitter.
"The Modi government's administration operates entirely on guesswork. As a result, a wildfire of price hikes has spread from petrol and diesel to gold and silver, jaggery and sugar to milk, onions, potatoes, and even auto-rickshaws, taxis, and state transport buses. The common man is getting scorched in the process, and this sin belongs entirely to the Modi government, claimed the editorial.