Popcorn prepared with common salt and spices, which is not packaged and labelled, will attract 5% GST. The GST rate on packaged and labelled popcorn will be 12%. Popcorn prepared with sugar like caramel has been kept in the 18% tax slab.
On Saturday, the GST Council has put popcorn in three types of tax slabs. 5%, 12% and 18%. Have you ever wondered why there was a need to bring something like popcorn under the ambit of GST? Actually, the popcorn market in India is not a small one. Its scope and market is quite large. According to estimates, its market size in India is around Rs 1200 crore. Which can reach around Rs 2600 crore in the year 2030.
According to a report, the popcorn market can see a growth of more than 12 percent from 2024 to 2023. The special thing is that the popcorn market in the whole world is Rs 75 thousand crores. Now you can understand how important it has become for the government to earn from popcorn. Let us also tell you what kind of popcorn market is being seen?
Popcorn market in India
The popcorn market in India is boosting rapidly. Its growth is being seen by more than 10 percent in the country in the last few years. More than 12 percent can be seen by the year 2030. According to the data, the popcorn was worth Rs 1,158 crore by the year 2023. Which is currently being seen around Rs 1,200 crore. The special thing is that by the year 2023, this figure can cross the figure of Rs 2,572 crore. According to the report, the popcorn market in the country is expected to grow at the rate of 12.1 percent from 2024 to 2030.
Why is the market growing
In fact, the main reason for the increasing consumption of popcorn in the country is the trend of common people going to multiplexes and movie theaters. On the other hand, its consumption has also increased significantly at home. Especially when all the people of the house sit together and watch a movie or a cricket match at home. If we look at the data, in 2021, Ready-to-Eat (RTE) popcorn was the type that generated the most revenue. While microwave popcorn was seen to be the fastest growing segment. If we talk about the seller, India's multiplex PVR sells an average of 18,000 popcorn tubs per day. Banaco supplies popcorn grains to about 80 percent of the multiplexes in India.
The global market is also not small
On the other hand, if we talk about the global market, it is also not small. According to the report of Mordor Intelligence, the popcorn market in the year 2024 is $ 8.80 billion i.e. about Rs 75 thousand crores. Which is estimated to reach 14.89 billion dollars i.e. 1.26 lakh crore rupees by the year 2029. Globally, the popcorn market can grow by 11.10 percent from 2024 to 2029. The biggest market for popcorn is North America. While the fastest growing market is Asia Pacific. At the global level, the big players of popcorn include Hershey's, PepsiCo, Pop Weaver, ConAgra etc.
The government brought popcorn under the tax net
The GST Council has brought popcorn under the GST net. The GST Council has placed popcorn in different slabs of GST according to the flavor. Popcorn prepared with ordinary salt and spices, which is not packaged and labeled, will be charged 5 percent GST. On the other hand, the GST rate on popcorn which is packaged and labeled will be 12 percent. Popcorn prepared with sugar like caramel has been placed under the 18 percent tax slab.