Green Shoots

Green Shoots The FMCG sector is showing signs of a turnaround, but doubts still remain. 

- Ajita Shashidhar

Has the average Indian consumer started spending more for her day-to-day needs? Has the homemaker in rural India gone back to products, such as Rin detergent, Lux soap or Tiger biscuits, as part of her monthly grocery list?

Well, if volume growth of listed consumer-product companies is any indication, it could probably be the case, but consumption data of rural or semi-urban households has not seen any noticeable change. That’s strange, given the fact that consumer sector revenue growth has touched 6.4 per cent compared to the average growth of 5.2 per cent for the past four quarters, according to an Edelweiss report. Also, the 2015/16 fourth quarter volume growth of 11 con- sumer goods companies, out of the 14 listed, has either been in line or has exceeded ana- lysts’ expectations.