Sugarcane that arrived in the city from the surrounding districts ahead of Makar Sankranti.
| Photo Credit: K. MURALI KUMAR
As Makar Sankranti approaches, sugarcane is taking centre stage in markets across Bengaluru. While it is an essential part of the festival celebrations, its price which is increasing year-on-year makes it not-so-sweet for customers.
In K.R. Puram, Padma, a vendor, reveals her stall sells nearly 1,000 sugarcane pieces over the peak days of January 13 and 14, drawing between 1,000 and 1,500 customers daily. She sells the sugarcane at ₹100 per piece, sourcing them from Mallasandra at ₹55 per piece. “These are the busiest days of the year for us,” Ms. Padma remarked.
As the demand for sugarcane goes up only specifically during the harvest festival, which falls on January 14 this year, vendors look to make the most of it by increasing their profit margin. At Malleswaram market, Ram Chandra, a vendor from Tamil Nadu, shares that his stall sees nearly 2,000 customers daily during the Sankranti period.
The price for a full-sized sugarcane stem ranges between ₹150 and ₹200 at his stall, while smaller pieces are sold at ₹30. “For puja, most people buy two stems of sugarcane,” he explained. These sugarcanes, grown in Tamil Nadu, are sourced from Mandya’s wholesale market, where full-sized stems cost between ₹40 and ₹50 each.
When asked about the higher price at which he sells on retail, he said: “It (raised prices) helps cover my travel costs as I have to source it from Mandya. The festive demand ensures good business for me as sugarcane is a staple offering during Sankranti.”
Nearby, another vendor, Laxmi, who pays ₹700 for 10 full-sized stems t K.R. Market, was selling it for ₹100 a stem and ₹30 a piece for smaller pieces. While she only gets around 100 customers a day, she reported that her profits figured at around ₹1,000 a day.
As sugarcane is used both as an offering to god and also as a part of the ‘ellu bella’ (sesame and jaggery mixture) traded during Sankranti, customers continue to buy them irrespective of its prices. “It is a part of our culture and we only buy it once a year. So we do not mind the price. But we do not buy a lot as everyone also brings a piece with them and we can use the same pieces for ellu bella exchange,” explained Shruthi Krishna, a resident of Padmanabhanagar.
Published – January 11, 2025 09:03 pm IST