Rural sales value positive; volumes have declined: HUL's Sanjiv Mehta

'Once commodity prices start going down, we will adjust down the prices or increase the quantum of volume in the packs', said Mehta

Sanjiv Mehta, chairman and managing director of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), considers health, hygiene and wellbeing as the new areas of growth for the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major over the next five years. In an exclusive interview with Sharleen D’Souza and Vishal Chhabria, he shares his expectation of commodity prices cooling off in the second half of 2022 which should lead to the return of volume-led growth. Edited excerpts:

Rural growth was negative, indicating a contraction in demand for the second quarter in a row. What are the key reasons for this demand pressure?

Headline growth or value growth in rural areas