Many Products Including Soap and Shampoo Became Expensive By 15 Percent
New Delhi, 6th May 2022: A day after the Reserve Bank raised policy rates to curb inflation, consumer products makers have started increasing prices from Thursday. Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has increased the prices of many products including soaps and shampoos by up to 15 percent.
According to reports, the price of 125 gm of Pissara soap has been increased by 2.4 per cent and that of multipack by 3.7 per cent. The price of Lux soap has been increased by 9 percent. While the prices of Sunsilk shampoo have also increased by 10 percent. The price of Clinique Plus Shampoo has been increased by 15 percent. Apart from this, the price of other cosmetics has also been increased by up to 10 percent.
Within just two months, Gastmoving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies have increased the price. Earlier, HUL and Nestle had raised the prices of Maggi, tea and coffee from March 14 this year. Recently, HUL CEO and MD Sanjiv Mehta had said that he has not seen such inflation in the 30 years he has spent in the company.
Britannia, on the other hand, has also announced a 10 per cent increase in the prices of its products this year. Earlier, the company had talked about a 7 per cent increase, but the company’s managing director Varun Veri said that in view of the sharp rise in raw material prices, the company will increase prices in the current financial year more than the earlier estimate.
The sharp rise in prices has forced consumers to cut back on spending on everyday products. According to a report by Kantar, overall spending on FMCG products declined by 0.8 per cent in the January-March quarter. In this, the overall decline has been less than the growth in the rural sector.
In rural areas, expenditure on these has increased by 1.7 percent, while in urban areas it has decreased by 3.4 percent. Urban areas account for two-thirds of the total sales of FMCG products. Market experts say that further reduction in spending on these products may be seen in the coming days.
