Price hikes across categories remain unabated in June

Price hikes across categories continued unabated in June, led by unprecedented raw material inflation. The categories that saw price hikes during June include soaps, detergents, toothpaste and shampoo. Under the home and personal care category, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is understood to have raised the price of its soaps by 3-20% across brands while ITC increased the price of select stock-keeping units (SKU) of Fiama Di Wills by 21%.

Prices of soaps from Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL), Reckitt Benckiser, and Wipro Consumer have also increased in the range of 4-19%. Detergents saw a high single-digit price increase across brands. HUL raised prices of select SKUs of Rin bars by 8-20% and Rin and Surf Excel detergent powders and liquids by 2-8%.

P&G increased the prices of its Tide and Ariel detergent powders by 3-7%. Similarly, in the dish wash bar segment, HUL increased the price of Vim and Jyothy Labs of Exo by 7% and 8% respectively. In toothpaste, Colgate raised prices of select SKUs by 5-14% while Dabur increased prices of its toothpaste by 3-7%.

In shampoos, P&G raised Head & Shoulders and Pantene shampoo prices by about 6-9%. However, HUL increased the prices of Sunsilk and Tresemme shampoo by about 3-6%. It also raised the price of select SKU of Glow & Lovely by 7%.

The comparisons are from April 2022 price levels. Price hikes were also seen in floor cleaners, other oral care, deodorants/air fresheners, and home insecticides, according to a report by Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE) However, Marico has reduced the price of select SKU of Parachute coconut oil by 2% while increasing the price of Jasmine oil by 2%. The edible oils segment has remained a mixed bag, with some companies taking more price hikes, while others have initiated price cuts following the recent correction in the global edible oils basket.

Marico raised the price of Saffola Gold oil by 9% while Agro Tech increased Sundrop oil prices by 8-23%. The food and beverages segment has also seen mixed trends in price. Nestle and HUL hiked the prices of Nescafe/Bru coffee by about 3-10%.

However, it reduced the price of its A+ toned milk by 12% even as Amul increased the price of Amul Gold milk by 3%. Butter/cheese witnessed hikes in the range of 2-7% across brands. Nestle’s baby foods range saw a 4-7% price rise across products.

In biscuits, Britannia led with price hikes in the range of 14-30% in select SKUs while Parle increased the price of its glucose biscuit by 10%, closing the discount to BRIT’s Tiger. Dabur’s health supplements saw price increases of 5-12%. HUL has also taken price hikes in select SKUs of Horlicks by about 4-12%.

“We also saw selective price hikes in noodles, confectionery, breakfast snacks, atta, and soups/sauces,” analysts said. However, some input cost pressures have started to ease. India tea prices have increased about 16% month-on-month (m-o-m) in line with seasonal trends.

Barley prices were down marginally m-o-m while wheat prices were flat m-o-m. Liquid milk prices rose 2% m-o-m even as milk powder prices were down 1% m-o-m. Crude prices though up 7% m-o-m have declined in July 2022.

Palm oil and PFAD prices declined sharply—down 16% and 18% m-o-m respectively. “We note that spot palm oil prices are further down 20%+ in July 2022. Prices of other edible oils such as sunflower oil (-7% m-o-m) and groundnut oil (-1% m-o-m) also moderated,” analysts said.

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