New Delhi: On Saturday, the GST Council has put popcorn in three types of tax slabs. 5%, 12%, 18%. Now the question is why did the government feel the need to bring something like popcorn under the ambit of GST. Let us know this in today's article.

2600 crore rupees market

The popcorn market is considered to be very big in India. According to estimates, its market size in India is around Rs 1200 crore. Which can reach around Rs 2600 crore in the year 2023.

Popcorn market increased by 12%

According to a report, the popcorn market is expected to grow by more than 12 percent from 2023 to 2024. The special thing is that the popcorn market in the whole world is worth Rs 75 thousand crores. Now you can understand how important it has become for the government to earn from popcorn.

Popcorn market

The popcorn market in India is growing rapidly. In the last few years, its growth has been more than 10% in the country. This market can grow up to 12% by the year 2023. According to the data, the popcorn market was Rs 1,158 crore by the year 2023, which is currently around Rs 1,200 crore. According to the report, the popcorn market in the country is expected to grow at a rate of 12.1 percent from 2024 to 2030.

How demand increased in the market

The increasing demand for popcorn in the country is the main reason for this. Common people go to multiplexes and movie theaters to eat popcorn with the movie. At the same time, its consumption has also increased a lot at home. Especially when all the people of the house sit together and watch a movie or cricket match at home. If we look at the figures, 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 India's multiplexes.

The global market is also huge

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 i.e. Rs 1.26 lakh crores by the year 2029. Globally, the popcorn market can grow by 11.10 percent from 2024 to 2029. The largest market for popcorn is North America. While the fastest growing market is Asia Pacific. Globally, major popcorn players include Hershey, PepsiCo, Pop Weaver, ConAgra, etc.

tax on popcorn

The GST Council has brought popcorn under the ambit of GST. The GST Council has placed popcorn in different GST slabs according to the taste. While 5% GST will be levied on popcorn that is not packaged and labeled, the GST rate on packaged and labeled popcorn will be 12%. Popcorn prepared with sugar like caramel has been placed in the 18% tax slab.