This festive season, confectioneries to cost more on back of higher sugar prices

Prices of most food items are expected to be stable this festive season due to ample stocks and good global supply situation while sugar prices are likely to remain firm in the month ahead, trade insiders said. Onions and tomatoes have become cheaper in recent weeks after these two commodities, along with fuel, pushed the country’s wholesale price inflation to a four-month high of 3.24% last month. Prices of cereals, which have highest weightage in the Consumer Price Index, are also expected to remain fairly stable, trade analysts said.

NEW DELHI | BENGALURU: Get ready to pay more for biscuits, ice-creams and soaps this summer. Shopping for daily-consumption grocery products is set to get more expensive thanks to higher input costs. Companies including Britannia, Amul, Dabur and Parle are either raising prices or cutting quantities in packaged products after the cost of ingredients such as sugar, milk powder and palm oil increased by 20-80% over the past year on account of fluctuating global commodity prices and lower production cycles.

MUMBAI|AHMEDABAD: The promoters of Vadilal, India’s oldest icecream brand, may be looking to exit the company, two years after a dispute erupted between them, two people aware of the development said. The eight-decade old Vadilal is owned by the Ahmedabad-based Gandhi family and boasts one of highest market shares in the frozen food segment. The promoters together hold about 65% in BSE-listed Vadilal Industries. “Vadilal has appointed Lincoln International as their investment bankers recently, who in turn would approach potential buyers.

KOLKATA: Expecting to garner over 20 per cent growth in sales during the festival season, consumer durables manufacturers are focusing on new launches, higher spending on marketing and innovative offers. "The industry is optimistic as companies on average have increased their marketing budgets by as much as 10 per cent this year. Consumer durable companies hope to increase their sales by almost 15-20 percent," Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) President Manish Sharma told IANS.

NEW DELHI/KOLKATA: With Diwali less than a week away, edible oil is turning to be heavier on consumer pockets. Demand for edible oil increases during this time of the year as people prepare sweets and savoury snacks for festival celebrations. Since August, soybean and sunflower oils - two of the most popular cooking mediums - have become costlier by as much as Rs 6-7 a litre, companies said. "The (import) duty on crude edible oil has been increased by the government from 5 per cent to 12.5 per cent this August.

MUMBAI|NEW DELHI: The Indian car bazaar, which got into a festive mood in October, has continued the strong run in November as the industry is estimated to have posted yet another month of double-digit growth. Other segments of the automobile market too showed strong performance, though two-wheeler sales remained under pressure. Based on industry numbers, manufacturers are estimated to have dispatched about 2.33 lakh cars in the past month, a more than 10% increase compared with the year-earlier month's 2.11 lakh units.

PUNE/NEW DELHI: With prices of pulses having increased sharply in less than a year, it's not only household kitchen budgets that have been disrupted. As Diwali approaches, manufacturers of savouries and sweets, many of which are made with dals, are contemplating their options in dealing with higher prices. Consumers will likely end up paying more for sweets and namkeen or getting less for the same price. Products made by small units could contain Canadian yellow peas instead of the traditional chana or moong dals.

MUMBAI | NEW DELHI: It's official. In one stroke, the Maggi noodles controversy dragged the entire packaged foods category down in the June quarter as wary consumers drastically reduced purchases. Ready-to-cook foods including noodles, oats and soups declined 9% during the quarter compared with a 5% growth in the year-ago period, according to data from IMRB Kantar Worldpanel, which studies consumption patterns through volume sales. Beverages fell 4% while the overall food segment's growth eased to 4% from 9% a year earlier, the data showed.