Amid the coronavirus outbreak in the country, India's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry saw a sharp fall in April. While modern trade saw a value growth of 5 percent, value growth in the traditional trade channel dropped by 38 percent, according to market research firm Nielsen.
The industry saw pantry loading in the pre-lockdown period and growth started slowing down during the subsequent lockdowns. Pre-lockdown growth was led by staples and convenience items.
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Interestingly, sales of non-vegetarian food slowed down during the lockdown. This was led by supply constraints and lower purchase intent, said Nielsen in a presentation.
"Average price has substantially increased for products like soft drinks, packaged ghee, tea, atta and oils. This is also because discounts from retailers have come down,” said Sameer Shukla, west market leader, South Asia, Nielsen Global Connect.
Sales of private labels for categories like atta, noodles, packaged rice, salt and non-refined oil have seen an upward trend. Owing to focus on essentials, there was a significant slowdown for the non-foods space during the lockdown in modern trade channels.
The coronavirus outbreak in the country has negatively impacted household income for Indians. 60 percent claim that COVID-19 has negatively impacted their household income and monthly household expenses have gone up by 3 percent. There is an expectation that business activity will rebound in the third quarter of FY20, Nielsen said.
First Published: May 22, 2020 4:51 PM IST
