Your mishti doi and rosogolla to cost more

In the six months from Poila Boishakh to Durga Puja-Diwali — the biggest festivals in Bengal’s calendar — the celebrations are set to turn less sweet. Thanks to the sudden rise in the prices of milk and sugar, almost all confectionery shops in the city are mulling a price hike that will come into effect in the coming weeks.
“The prices of milk, ghee and sugar —the main ingredients for sweet shops — are constantly going up.We’ve been shouldering the burden for the past few months, but for how long? We can’t compromise on quality and size of sweets, as we have a name in the market. Every day, we need around 1,000 of litres of milk, which currently costs `49 a litre. But the price fluctuates, and last month it was `52. We have a contract with suppliers and if we need extra milk, we have to pay the market price, which can be between `60-70. On Poila Boishakh I needed extra milk, which I bought at `140 per litre. We can’t continue without a 10-20% increase in the price of our products. Roughly, it means that a sweet that costs `10 now will cost `12,” said Parikshit Gupta of Gupta Brothers, Salt Lake.
SUPPLY LINES DRY UP
The worst part is that the crisis will deepen over the next few months. Reports suggest that sugar prices will go up by `3-4 per kg in the coming days. Cooperative minister Chandrakant Patil suggested that sugar production might fall by up to 50% in the next year as sugarcane crops are being hit because of drought.
This steep rise in prices has affected the profit margins of sweet shops. “The profit margin is as low as 7-8% now. With the falling number of cowsheds and milkmen, the supply lines are drying up. The milk that cost `40-42 per litre in April now costs `50-51. Sugar is `43 per kilo now, while it was `38 only a few months back. Our pre-Puja price hike will see mishti doi going from `200 to `220 per kilo, apart from a commensurate rise in the prices of other sweets,” said Suprovat Dey, from Naba Krishna Guin
Subhrajyoti Choudhury of Deshbandhu Mishtanna Bhandar pointed out that multiple factors like transport costs, presence of middlemen and a skewed demand-supply ratio were affecting the prices of essential commodities. “Our sweets will see a 10% or more hike in prices,” he added.
CAKE SHOPS FACE THE HEAT TOO
If you thought that only traditional sweet shops are affected, think again. Some of the city’s biggest cake shops are also facing the heat. “We’ve not announced a price hike, keeping in mind our customers and the competition. But it’s coming soon, probably before Durga Puja. The price of cakes should go up by `10 per pound,” said Lovey Kapur, from Kookie Jar.
Confectionaries that sell savouries like pizzas, puffs and patties are finding it difficult to cope since vegetables prices have gone up as well. “Butter, milk, cheese, sugar, vegetables — everything we need for our products cost more now. We’ve thought of keeping our customers happy so far, but before Puja, prices will go up by 10-12%,” said Satyendra Mishra of Cakes. Cupcakes, the firm favourite with the young crowd, will cost more soon, said Sneha Singhi of Paris Café. “A red velvet cupcake that now costs `70 will cost `85. I’m sure our customers will be with us.”
EYES ON THE PUJAS
Most sweet shops affirm that though they are bearing the brunt of the rise in prices of essential commodities so far, once they approach the Pujas, the greater demand will force them to hike prices. Most of them are still going through their books to figure out what is the minimum increase possible that will keep them in the business — yet not drive customers away to competition.
“Milk, ghee and sugar are the pillars of our industry and with the prices of these three items going up, we will have to order a 8-10% increase in prices of our food items leading up to Durga Puja. Take the example of milk. Sixty per cent of it we buy on a yearly contract, but the rest of the 40 per cent has to be bought from the local market and that costs a fortune. Consumption of milk is increasing, but with the number of cowsheds falling, this will only send the demand-supply ratio into a tailspin and hence affect all milk and dairy products. And we hear that sugar production is less than last year, so the price will surely increase,” said Subhajit Ghosh of Banchaaram’s.
Sudip Mullick from Balaram Mullick & Radharaman Mullick too is thinking of hiking the price of =sweets by 10% before Pujas. “Milk, which was `35-40 per litre a few months back, is now `50-54 per litre. The price of sugar is also going up. So, there is no option but to increase the price of sweets before Pujas.”