As per information furnished by mills and estimations made by Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), total sales upto March,2021 stood at 129.48 lac tons against domestic sales quota of 125 lac tons given by the Government.
Last year, during the same period sugar sales were estimated at 130.29 lac tons as against sales quota of 126 lac tons, i.e. only about 0.81 lac tons higher as compared to current year. Last year, post March, 2020, sugar sales got affected due to the country wide lockdown and consequent closure of restaurants, malls, movie halls, etc., which in turn impacted the demand for sugar sweetened products like ice cream, beverages, juices, confectionaries, sweets etc.
This year, though there are night curfew and lockdown with certain limitations in some States / regions but conditions are somewhat different, as this time restrictions are more organized and directives including standard operating procedures are already in place, due to which disruption in supply chain is expected to be minimal.