Retail sugar inflation tops 30% in 21 states and UTs with Odisha recording the highest rise

Key facts

• Retail sugar inflation crossed 30 per cent in 21 of the 36 states and Union Territories in September 2026, with Odisha recording the highest rise at 37.48 per cent.
• National retail sugar inflation rose to 29.80 per cent in September from 24.27 per cent in August, the highest since January 2026 in the new CPI series with 2024 as the base year.
• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) sugar index stood at 136.25 in September, the highest since January 2025.
• September's reading was the highest in 2026 in every state and Union Territory except Rajasthan, where sugar inflation eased from 25.65 per cent in August to 25.15 per cent.
• Wholesale sugar inflation stood at 12.72 per cent in September, easing from 16.29 per cent in August, which was the highest in 30 months.
• Oil marketing companies barred ethanol made from sugarcane juice, sugar syrup and B-heavy molasses from their procurement tender for the 2026-27 supply year, issued on 16 October, amid concerns over sugar availability after poor rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
• The tender allows ethanol from maize, broken rice, surplus rice procured by the Food Corporation of India and C-heavy molasses, and cuts the incentive for maize-based ethanol to ₹2.79 per litre from ₹5.79, lowering its procurement price to ₹68.86 per litre from ₹71.86.
• Wholesale maize prices rose 3.34 per cent in September year-on-year, reversing a deflationary trend seen since July 2025.