Despite consumption slowdown, packaged food sector grows 14.4%: IIP data

Branded packaged food market expanded 17.6% in calendar year 2018 to cross the Rs 5-trillion-mark for the first time

Consumption slowdown appears to have not impacted the packaged food market like it has other segments of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. The latest data from the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which maps the country’s manufacturing activity, shows growth of 14.4 per cent between April and August this year in the manufacture of food products versus the same period last year.  

The data is of relevance because IIP is considered an indirect indicator of consumer demand. As Kaustubh Pawaskar, senior analyst at Mumbai-based brokerage Sharekhan, says, “Companies will not look at hiking production activity if there is no demand