6/11/2004 FINANCIAL EXPRESS - Refined oil consumer packs have clocked thehighest growth over the past five years according to a retail audit by ACNielsen. The category has posted a compounded annualised growth rate(CAGR) of 27 per cent since March 1999 and a similar growth over one yearperiod. Godrej Industries executive director and president MP Pusalkarsaid, "Growth in sales volumes of soya oil has resulted in this uptrend."

Mr Pusalkar added that last year due to good monsoons the kharif and rabicrop gave bumper output and this resulted in good raw materialavailability. But 50 per cent of the edible oil used in Indian industry isimported and this resulted in higher prices due to fluctuations globally.At the same time, good monsoons drived demand and soya oil, which ischeaper than groundnut and sunflower oils, witnessed high volume growth.Per capita consumption of soya oil increased and even replaced sunfloweroil in some places.

Mr Pusalkar further said that low-import duty (45 per cent) on soya oilagainst the duty of 65-70 per cent on groundnut and sunflower oil has beendriving demand over the past four-five years. AC Nielsen retail auditfurther shows packaged atta coming second with a CAGR of 25 per cent overthe same period. In the short-term, the study shows namkins at the topwith a 30 per cent growth over one year. The study attributes these trendsto aggressive commodity branding, which has been aided by the loweringcost of technology.

Growth of regional media and rise of aggressive regional players that aremaking forays into areas with low entry barriers are the other reasonsbehind this. Consumers in urban India that increasingly value convenienceis another contributory factor behind this. Other categories that haveposted good growth in the one-year period include refined oil consumerpack: 27 per cent, non-refined oils: 13 per cent, biscuits: 12 per cent,packaged pure ghee: eight per cent, vermicelli: seven per cent andchocolates: four per cent.