April 25, 2020
Taking into account that state of Gujarat is counted as one of the biggest manufacturer and consumer of ice-creams in India, Durgesh Buch, president of GCCI, said that small scale manufacturers of ice-cream in the state had stocked up a lot in March for the following summer season before the lockdown.
The Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) wrote to Chief Minister Vijay Rupani requesting “ice-creams” to be considered under essential commodities during the period of lockdown.
Taking into account that state of Gujarat is counted as one of the biggest manufacturer and consumer of ice-creams in India, Durgesh Buch, president of GCCI, said that small scale manufacturers of ice-cream in the state had stocked up a lot in March for the following summer season before the lockdown. “A situation has arisen that due to the lockdown, the entire stock of these manufacturers might get spoiled as ice-creams, not being an essential item, is not being sold,” Buch stated in the letter.
Buch said that the government can certainly consider ice-cream as a dairy food product which is essential during summers. “In Karnataka, ice-creams have already been included in the list of essential commodities,” he said. GCCI requested the government for allowing ice-cream manufacturers to sell the products as “Take Aways” and thus ensure and maintain social distancing.
Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), of Amul brand, owns 42 per cent of market share in the Rs. 10,000-crore Indian ice-cream industry is prime player selling ice-creams during the lockdown in Gujarat. “Sales for April is currently down by 85 per cent compared to the same period last year. At the beginning of this month, the sales were as low as 95 per cent, but it has slowly picked up,” said R.S. Sodhi, managing director of GCMMF.