FMCG sector grows 10.6% in December quarter: NielsenIQ

India’s packaged consumer goods grew 10.6 per cent by sales in the October-December quarter, led by increased demand in rural markets as well as higher prices of staples such as edible oil and wheat, market researcher NielsenIQ said in its quarter FMCG update on Thursday.

Aided by festive demand in the quarter, FMCG companies reflected consumption-driven growth, with overall volume sales up 7.1 per cent, despite a 3.3 per cent average price increase on account of continued inflationary pressures, NielsenIQ said in its report.

Small and local manufacturers continued to outpace larger FMCG companies in driving consumption, fuelled by consistent volume growth, it said.


Roosevelt Dsouza, head of customer success for consumer goods at NielsenIQ, said in a statement that rural markets continued to lead the charge, outpacing urban consumption in the December quarter.

Sales volume increased 9.9 per cent in rural markets in the quarter, increasing 5.7 per cent from the previous quarter. While urban markets also grew 2.6 per cent sequentially, growth in cities was far lower compared to villages.

Rural India has been outgrowing urban, which has been battling a protracted slowdown for the last four quarters. Rural consumers, on the other hand, have led the FMCG growth story, aided by employment schemes and the government’s agri-sops.

The NielsenIQ report added that urban consumption doubled in the December quarter compared to the year ago, while rural markets grew 9.9 per cent by volumes, growing twice faster than urban India.