New Delhi, April 10: In the middle of the nationwide lockdown, there is an acute shortage of essential staples like rice, atta and dal in many retail stores across the country. In addition to this, the local Kirana stores are also running out of packaged food items like biscuits, instant noodles and snacks. According to a Times of India report, this has caused a huge surge in demand for these items, coupled with low production in factories and severe transport bottlenecks.

Dal is seeing a shortage as 75 percent of the mills in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are closed. On the other hand, the reason behind the shortage in supply of FMCG products is because most of these firms have either scaled down their operations or have suspended due to the coronavirus lockdown. As the number of coronavirus cases continues to increase in India, the fear around the virus has jumped manifold. FMCG Companies Permitted by Govt to Ask Retail Partners to Restrict Sales of Essential Items if People Are Found Hoarding, to Avoid Panic Buying.

Most of these factories are running at 20-30 percent strength because maximum labours have moved to their hometowns. In some states, the government is not allowing the production of packaged food items like chips, leading to its scarcity. Inspite of the fact that it falls under the essential categories. Most of these firms are affected by the shortage in supply of labours and the supply chain is further contributing to this shortage.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2020 08:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).