Aerated water and soft drinks continued to buck the otherwise disappointing industrial growth numbers in June, while sugar production fell sharply due to low output in Maharashtra, the country’s largest producer.
The heat in June, coupled with humid conditions, led to a 58.3 per cent rise in the sale of aerated waters and soft drinks in the month, year-on-year, even as larger category of this segment, consumer non-durable, declined one per cent.
The June figure for aerated water and soft drinks was even higher than the previous month, when their production rose 25.1 per cent, even as industrial growth was lower in June compared to May.
However, sugar production declined 66.1 per cent in June.
Abinash Verma, director general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association (Isma), said the crushing of sugarcane in Maharashtra continued till June last year, but this year the mills improved their capacities, due to which they could crush the same amount of cane by the middle of May itself. Crushing season starts from November every year.
“This has brought down the overall sugar production in India in June compared with the same period last year,” Verma told Business Standard.
Maharashtra produced 0.13 million tonnes of sugar in June last year, while this year it fell to 0.01 million tonnes.
Some of the other important items showing high negative growth in June include cable and rubber insulated products, which fell 82 per cent, colour TV picture tubes fell 79.7 per cent, di-ammonium phosphate by 54.1 per cent, cement machinery by 40 per cent and three-wheelers by 29.4 per cent.
Besides soft drinks, some of the other items showing high positive growth include petroleum coke by 70.8 per cent and woollen carpets by 61.5 per cent.
Also, the number of industry groups showing positive growth rose to 14 of 22 in June, against 12 in May. Even then, industrial growth contracted in May. Capital goods declined sharply by 27 per cent in June against fall of 8.7 per cent in May.
