The Price Of Sugar

[barry1010]

The price of sugar has rocketed and has not come back down. Can anyone shed any light on what might be the reason? I am referring specifically to standard white granulated sugar. It had been around the 60p a kilo price then shot up to around £1 plus.

I only buy beet sugar which has been grown and produced in the UK so it can't be related to import costs. I notice that cane sugar is the same price.

I don't think it is supermarket profiteering. If a major supermarket could sell it significantly cheaper than the competition I think they would and advertise the fact.

[Barmaid]

Poor beet harvest last year and continually poor cane harvests will be a significant factor.

Given the wet summer we can expect there to be an impact on products derived from oilseed rape and barley.

[barry1010]

You're right, Barmaid. Apparently the price of chocolate is going to go up due to the adverse weather conditions for growing the beans.

[windywillow]

///During the late forties her mother was recommended by her doctor to start smoking.///

I used to have a friend who was (according to the story) advised by her doctor not to give up smoking as the stress it would cause her could be more damaging than smoking to her unborn baby.

Apologies for going off-topic, just thought it was an interesting point.

[barry1010]

I've heard that before, too, windy.

I wonder if in years to come people will be marvelling that GPs advised their patients to take up vaping as it would be better for them than smoking. Time will tell.

[pastafreak]

I seem to remember warnings mid pandemic about chocolate prices going up. I usually get Lindt bars, and I think the current special offer/sale price is higher than the rrp a year-18 months ago.

[barry1010]

I remember when wagon wheels were bigger than my head and a Mars bar was too heavy to lift :D

[Buenchico]

The price of sugar in the shops only seems to have gone back to where it was about a decade ago. At that time my local Co-op was selling Tate & Lyle cane sugar at 95p for a 1kg bag, with Silver Spoon beet sugar costing a whopping £1.35. Tesco had stopped selling Silver Spoon altogether across all of its stores, except for the one in Bury St Edmunds (which is accessed from the same roundabout as the Silver Spoon factory is).

[Geoffrey13]

LOL at 11:27 - you can't beat a bit of hyperbole.

[Buenchico]

^^^ Barry's hyperbole is far smaller than it used to be, Geoffrey ;-)

[barry1010]

Buen, you've been shopping in the wrong stores. Or maybe things are a bit more upmarket where you live :D

[douglas9401]

I can remember when a superbole was a big deal.

[barry1010]

Interesting, although it does give the average price, so higher than I pay.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/timeseries/cznn

[10ClarionSt]

You can tell the difference between cane sugar and beet sugar quite easily if you place them side by side in seperate bowls. Cane sugar is crystals and beet sugar looks more like a powder. I stil think cane sugar is sweeter than beet sugar but it might just be my taste!