New Delhi, April 10: In the middle of the lockdown, sales of one of the biggest packaged foods, Nestle Maggi instant noodles have increased. According to an Economic Times report, the company is in talks with the authorities to ensure that there is less impact on the operations. The demand for the packaged food has increased due to people working from home, and with schools shut to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

But, food and beverage companies are struggling to meet this increase in demand on the back of several problems owing to the lockdown. Companies are dealing with acute labour shortage because most of them have migrated to their hometowns.  On social media as well, people have been complaining about the unavailability of Maggi. Supply of Rice, Atta, Dal, Biscuits, Instant Noodles & Others Hit, Retail And Kirana Stores Face Acute Shortage Amid COVID-19 Lockdown.

Below are some tweets of people complaining about the unavailability of Maggi:

Here's another tweet:

In an interview to Hindu Business Line, Suresh Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, Nestlé India said that even during this challenging times, the priority of the company is to ensure that the much-needed food and beverage products are available to their consumers and communities throughout the country. The company is also further ensuring that the wellbeing of the employees and factory workers are not compromised during this time.

The Nestle stock was trading at 16,843. The reason being, in the current backdrop of uncertainty, some investors see stocks of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firms as safe havens since these businesses are relatively less impacted.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2020 11:54 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).