FMCG sector to shrink 1-3% in 2020, says Nielsen in third review in a year

Headwinds such as commodity inflation outweigh positives. Downgrade comes amid positive growth reported by sector in Q3, which is expected to continue into Q4

The country's Rs 4.3-trillion fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) market will contract by 1-3 per cent in the 2020 calendar year, market research agency Nielsen said on Thursday, as headwinds such as commodity inflation outweigh tailwinds. The downgrade comes amid positive growth reported by the sector in July-September (Q3), which is expected to continue into Q4.

In Q3, the FMCG market saw an overall growth of 0.9 per cent, Nielsen said. This takes into account the traditional trade and modern trade channels only. If e-commerce is added to this, then the overall FMCG growth is higher at 1.6 per cent in