Agencies
The consumption of consumer goods in rural India returned to growth after more than a year in the March quarter and is expected to grow for the rest of the year, market analytics firm NielsenIQ said, as inflation and price hikes eased.
The increase in product prices slowed to 6.9% from January to March, from 7.9% in the previous quarter, helping consumption in rural India increase 0.3%, after six quarters of decline, NielsenIQ said in a report on Wednesday.Several Indian consumer goods makers, including Parachute hair oil manufacturer Marico, Fortune cooking oil seller Adani Wilmar and Dove soapmaker Hindustan Unilever have cut prices as commodity costs come off their highs."More than 2/3rd of India’s population resides in rural areas,” NielsenIQ Managing Director Satish Pillai said. "The upward trends seen in rural markets is particularly encouraging, and may be the turning point for the industry.”
However, NielsenIQ said consumers have not fully returned to buying bigger packs, as consumers living paycheck to paycheck are increasingly buying smaller packs of consumer goods to save cash.