FMCG firms likely to hold prices through festive season amid cost pressures

FMCG companies are likely to hold prices through the festive season despite a rise in commodity prices, including sugar, and the impact of geopolitical disruptions, as they seek to protect consumer demand and maintain volume growth amid improving consumption.

Leading industry executives said companies have already gone for judicious increases of around 2-5 per cent in the June quarter to partly offset higher input costs and are unlikely to raise prices further before the end of the festive season, even as margins remain under pressure.

The sector has been facing renewed cost pressures, with sugar prices touching a new high, alongside a sharp increase in costs of key inputs such as edible oils, coffee, cocoa and crude oil derivatives used in packaging, amid geopolitical disruptions and supply concerns in global markets.

While most companies have absorbed a significant part of the inflation through cost-control initiatives and portfolio management, they remain focused on protecting ..