Indian supermarket shelves see surge of South-East Asian brands
The names don’t ring a bell—Mogu Mogu juices, Cornea chips, Kato fruit drink—but importers and retailers say Indian shoppers are getting used to them.
These three Thai products are part of a range of items from South-East Asia that are increasingly showing up on Indian supermarket shelves.
While demand for packaged and fresh products from Vietnam and Thailand has been rising, Chinese products are still not as popular, said Mini Yadav, managing director of Le Marché, which runs a chain of speciality food stores with seven outlets in the National Capital Region.
“Thai cuisine brands are the third most popular brands after Italian and Chinese cuisine brands,” said Devendra Chawla, president (Food Bazaar category) at Future Group. “Thai brands like Real Thai, Pantai, Blue Elephant, Kara, Namjai, etc. are most sought after and have shown rapid growth driven by increased exposure through media and cooking shows on TV, and the proliferation of Thai restaurants.”
(Sources: Livemint, i4u, IBNLive, Zeenews, NDTV)
Steel prices likely to rise 7.2% this year: CMIE
Steel prices are expected to rise by 7.2 per cent this year and the rates will start firming up from October due to rise in demand in spite of weakness in international markets, economic think-tank CMIE has said.
However, prices are likely to remain under pressure during the July-September season as demand for steel usually weakens in monsoons, especially from the construction sector.
Besides, the steel prices in international markets will remain weak in the coming months due to unfavourable macroeconomic environment, it added.
(Sources: Hindu Business Line, Zeenews, Financial Express, Economic Times)
Luxury car market to grow slowest in 10 years: Andreas Schaaf, MD, BMW
Sales of Indian premium and luxury cars are expected to sputter to a crawl this year to its slowest pace in the last decade. The luxury segment may not even touch double-digit growth this year, says Andreas Schaaf, the managing director of BMW India, as a hike in import duty, rupee depreciation and rising petrol prices keep the rich away from buying their dream cars, which have become more expensive.
Luxury cars, which account for less than 2% of India's 2.2-million car market, grew just 9% in the first six months of calendar 2012 with sales of around 12,000 units, compared with a growth of 80% in 2010 for the same period and 35-40 % growth in 2011.
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Worldnews, IBNLive, Rediff)
FDI in retail: Walmart, others seek US government help to enter India
Amid growing political opposition in India for easing of foreign investment norms in retail and other sectors, US-based companies like Wal-Mart and Prudential Financial are lobbying hard with their own lawmakers here to garner support for their Indian business expansion plans.
Wal-Mart Stores, which has been trying to set multi-brand shops in India for a long time, spent nearly $1.5 million on lobbying in the last quarter ended June 30, 2012 on various issues, including matters "related to FDI in India."
(Sources: Economic Times, India Today, IBNLive, Times of India, Business Today)
India's GDP will cross the $5 trillion mark by 2020: Report
Business information and knowledge provider Dun & Bradstreet on Friday forecasted that India's GDP will still cross the US$ 5 trillion mark by 2020 despite the economy slowdown, in its second edition of its publication, India 2020 - economy outlook.
According to the report, investment activity is expected to accelerate, which will help the Indian economy grow faster. Share of investment to GDP is expected to increase to 40.7% of GDP by FY20 from 36.6% in FY10.
Dun & Bradstreet also says that investment in physical infrastructure is likely to lead to employment generation, increased production efficiency, reduction in cost of doing business and improved standard of living
(Sources: Economic Times, Indiatimes, Worldnews. NDTV, Zeenews)
Rain deficit in 63% area raises drought fear
Questions over declaration of a nationwide drought could be raised again as 63% of the country's geographical area has registered deficient rainfall even as half the monsoon season is already over.
Haryana and Delhi have recorded a deficit of 70% so far, and Punjab 66%. Saurashtra and Kutch are one of the worst-hit areas at 77% shortfall. The rest of Gujarat, too, is caught in a dry spell and rainfall is 55% below normal, while western Rajasthan has recorded a dip of 64%.
Even if rains are recorded at normal levels in these four sub-divisions, the deficit is bound to be too high by end of the season, implying drought is inevitable.
(Sources: Economic Times, Times of India, Sahara Samay, Indiatimes, Worldnews)
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