NEW DELHI –  Prices for medium-grade sugar today rose by 40 rupees to 3,390 rupees per 100 kg in Muzaffarnagar due to a firm demand ahead of Diwali, said Vijay Kapoor, a local trader. 

Prices of medium-grade sugar in Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolhapur markets were largely unchanged from the previous day, traders said. Key markets in Maharashtra were shut on Monday due to Assembly elections in the state. 

"Earlier in the day, demand for sugar was very strong. But as the day progressed, demand for the commodity gradually decreased as requirement for the commodity for Diwali was largely fulfilled," he added.

Demand for sugar ahead of the festivals are decreasing every year as consumers are shifting their taste from sweets to dry fruits and other eatables, a Delhi-based trader said.

In the international market, prices were marginally lower. At 1716 IST, the most-active March contract of raw sugar on the Intercontinental Exchange was at 12.26 cents per pound, down 0.1%.

India's sugar production is seen falling 16.3% on year to 26.8 mln tn in 2019-20 due to limited availability of sugarcane in key growing states of Maharashtra and Karnataka, US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report.

Heavy rains in August had damaged sugarcane crops in Maharashtra and Karnataka, lowerring the availability of sugarcane, the agency said. India is one of the world's largest producers of sugar.

Following are today's prices for medium-grade sugar in rupees per 100 kg, at key wholesale markets, and the change from the previous close: