15% hike in sweet prices turn Deepavali sour in Chennai

CHENNAI: With the tradition of exchanging sweets and savouries among family and friends, sweet shop owners in Chennai say prices have gone up by 10 to 15 per cent this year.

Caterers and confectioners attribute the hike to rising labour costs and input expenses, including ghee, sugar, and dry fruits.

S Krishna Prasad, who runs a sweet shop franchise in T Nagar, said a price surge during festive seasons were common, particularly during Deepavali. “This year, a kilo of traditional sweets and savouries such as ladoo, jangiri, mysore pak, kai murukku, thattai, and seedai are priced between Rs 488 and Rs 788, compared with Rs 430 to Rs 756 last year,” he pointed out. “Cashew-based sweets, which were sold between Rs 900 and Rs 1,270/kg last year, now cost between Rs 1,197 and Rs 1,470. With raw material prices increasing steadily, we’re operating on minimal profit margins to retain our regular customers.”

Echoing this, Srinivasan of LVN Catering, Mylapore, said that although GST on sweets had been reduced from 12% to 5%, production costs continued to climb. “During Deepavali, we handle large bulk orders. Ladoo, badusha and mysore pak are priced at Rs 750/kg, while karaboondhi, kasasev, ompodi, and mixtures are around Rs 650/kg. Kai murukku is being sold at Rs 800/kg,” he said.

A traditional sweet shop owner in Triplicane, said his establishment had not revised prices for the festive season. “We review prices only once in 5-6 years. Frequent changes can drive customers away,” he said.