India’s sugar consumption is set to hit record highs in the current sugar season 2021-22 and is exhibiting a strong recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic crisis despite product diversification, safe processing and packaging remain high on the agenda.
According to the latest reports by the Department of Food & Public Distribution, the estimated domestic consumption for the sugar season 2021-22 is 278 LMT which has been growing year-on-year. In the previous year the sugar consumption was recorded at 265 LMT.
Normally the first half of the Indian sugar season is driven by regular consumption and later gets a boost in the summer with the increase in consumption of seasonal products as well as the festive demand and weddings that run roughly March onwards.
In talks with ChiniMandi News Mr. Pankaj Rastogi, CEO – Sugar Business at Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries Limited shared his views on sugar consumption. He said, “ In the last two years, due to Covid, the shift towards packaged sugar has accelerated. Sugar has been sold in open packs traditionally. Initially the packaged sugar being considered a premium market play, it is now striding forward. For us, launching Dalmia Utsav has been a step towards bringing that change and being part of the change. One on hand as the consumption increase has been visible in the last 3 years, a more hygienic way of handling sugar and offering better quality sugar for direct and indirect consumption is the prime motto now for us in Dalmia Bharat Sugar.
Commenting on how the sugar consumption patterns have been witnessed Mr. Indraneel Chitale a fourth-generation entrepreneur from Chitale Group, a popular name in the sweets & savory segment that stands as a widely recognized brand for more than 75 years said, “The export demand for sugar seems to be pretty high and that is a good ability to have. This directly helps us leverage better. The domestic consumption seems to have a steady growth and that can be attributed to the opening up of the economy. Overall this steady pattern seems to indicate a conscious demand that will be sustainable.”
Speaking on the “Future of India’s Sweet Tooth” at the Sugar & Ethanol India Conference 2022 recently held in Mumbai, Prof. Narendra Mohan – Director, National Sugar Institute said, “There has been a big back-lash on sugar, however sugar is not to be blamed for obesity, diabetes or making your children hyper-active. The per capita sugar consumption may remain under stress due to negative media campaigns but the quality of sugar is going to matter because of changes in consumer behavior and preferences. Demographic changes, increase in population and incomes will still remain the key drivers.”
Mr. Prakash Naiknavare – Managing Director, National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories shared his views on the sugar consumption patterns in India. He said, “India has been,is & shall be the largest sugar consumer despite having one of the lowest per capita consumption in the world !! There was a time when Indian sugar consumption had recorded 4.1% YOY growth. COVID entry in March 2020 & imposed lockdowns slashed the domestic sugar consumption, albeit for a limited period. Countrywide unlock downs have steadily but surely satisfied the quest of sweet tooth. Annual consumption of 252 LTS in the year 2020 has peaked to 278 LTS in the current year. Apart from our industrial bulk buyers & household consumers, the hard working laborers most favorite “Chai” is proving to be the cheapest source of instant energy ! Thanks to Sugar. So, India is back on the platform to show the world that we Indians are not only sweet talkers & sweet looking people, but are sweet eaters too
The sugar industry has also been witnessing a growth in the retail space too. Speaking to a prominent player in the retail sugar space who doesn’t wish to be mentioned, said, “In a country like India which has a ‘sweet tooth’, sugar consumption diminishing is very far-fetched. Customer choices may change and we may be able to see demand stemming from different geographies differently. Various FMCG companies are highly devoting R&D efforts to develop technologies to reduce sugar without compromising taste for their customers. But on the other hand the mithais, sweets, savories, chocolates, candies or comfort foods are hard to shed and hence companies are also keenly paying attention to these preferences. The need for continuous improvements and rising competition has created the need to ameliorate customer value is driving the trend and this in return is significantly going to remodel the entire consumption landscape in the coming days. The retail space is growing significantly and we will see sugar companies eventually focusing on retail sugar footprint expansion in both offline and online forms to keep adding fuel to growth.”
