Kolkata: The festive variety of sweet and confectionery items may shrink this Durga Puja if sugar prices do not cool down. With the festive season less than two months away, the rise in sugar price has left the traders in the lurch as many of them are retreating from their plans of elaborate puja-special sweet buffets packed with a plethora of items.The confectioners and sweet sellers rued that the hike in sugar price is burning holes in their pockets but they won’t be able to pass on the burden to customers. The traders also pointed to the price hike of milk and its supply crunch.Dhiman Das, director of KC Das Pvt Ltd who is also the president of Mishty Udyog, told TOI: “If sugar price is not controlled, the variety of items will be limited. The sugar price has gone up by about Rs 20, but sweet sellers cannot raise the prices of the products randomly. Sweets have to be pocket-friendly for buyers but the escalation in raw material cost is burning holes in our pockets. We are looking for govt’s intervention.”“It is a double blow for us as we are already facing the impact of commercial gas cylinder’s price hike. Besides, the price of milk has gone up and its supply has gone down. But if we increase the prices of our products to make up for the loss, we would lose buyers. So, we are in a tough situation ahead of the festive season,” said Rajdeep Paul, managing partner of Hindustan Sweets.The festive sale of sweets begins with Durga Puja and goes on till Bhai Phonta. “We have no other way but to put up with the inflating prices. We cannot experiment with sugar-free products because they are more expensive,” said another sweet seller.“We are closely monitoring the situation but there is no alternative to sugar, one of the main ingredients for confectionery. This is raising our expense and if products become more expensive, the customer count will dip. If the sugar price continues going up, the variety of puja buffet may dip this time,” said Suddeip Sharma, founder of Dough as You like.Calling the sugar price hike a challenge, Priyanka Sarayan, owner of Frost O Sugar, stated: “We’re cutting down on wastage and managing production more carefully. What to do during puja if sugar price is not controlled?”
