Sweet makers body pegs ‘Raksha Bandhan’ loss at Rs 5,000 cr

A national federation of sweet makers said sales of sweets on this Raksha Bandhan are expected to be halved due to the alleged mismanagement of the administration in different states in addition to the epidemic hitting customers. This may cost the sweets industry about Rs 5,000 crore.

The director of the Federation of Sweets and Namkeen Manufacturers, Feroz H Naqvi sadi, “Sweets worth around Rs 10,000 crore were sold across the country on Raksha Bandhan last year. This figure is expected to come down to around Rs 5,000 crore this time.”

“The purchasing power of the customers is already affected due to the economic crisis arising out of Covid-19. There has been a lot of confusion in many districts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and some other states about opening of sweet shops on Saturday and Sunday falling just before Raksha Bandhan (Monday). As a result, sweets could not be manufactured and stocked adequately to meet the festive demand.” 

He said the government’s mismanagement on Raksha Bandhan has increased the problems for the sweets industry. These problems could have been mitigated by a timely decision by the administration about opening of shops, he said.

Naqvi said as per a rough estimate, the sweet business from Raksha Bandhan to Janmashtami accounts for about 25 per cent of annual festival sales.

He demanded the administration across the country should rectify its mistake and announce the plan to open sweets shops in advance during the upcoming festivals so that sweet makers can prepare accordingly.