Manufacturers are not keen to reduce the price of hygiene products. Manufacturers have not reduced the price of hygiene products like sanitary napkins, tissue papers rolls and diapers despite the slash in excise duty on such products by 9% in this year's budget.
Most players are sceptical about price cut considering the prices of paper pulp, used to make sanitary napkins and diapers. Analysts say that the price of paper pulp has increased by almost 25% in the last five years.
Currently the price of paper pulp is above $1,000 per air-dried metric tonne (ADMT) from under $800 per ADMT in 2006. The input cost pressure and rising prices of crude that impact packaging is also a dominating factor in the hesitation shown by the players.
"Not planning to take a price cut but we will be reducing prices of select products post the reduction in excise duty," said a Johnson and Johnson executive basing it on the inflationary trend in paper pulp. Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) has not confirmed any price cuts, but analysts believe that GCPL might pass on the excise duty benefit to consumers soon.
The Rs 500 cr baby diaper market is currently growing at 28% per annum. It is led by Pampers, with a share of 56%. Huggies, manufactured by GCPL, ranks second at 32% and Mamy Poko pants stands third with a share of 5%, followed by Wipro which comes fourth.
According to company sources, the reduction on Wipro's diapers is likely to be of 4-5%. However, Vineet Agrawal, president, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting (WCCL) said, "A price cut on Baby Soft diapers is in the offing."
The women's hygiene market stands at Rs 1,200 cr and is growing at 14% per annum. The key players include Procter and Gamble's (P&G) Whisper, Stayfree manufactured by Johnson and Johnson and Kimberly Clarke's Kotex. P&G is the only player which has declared a slash in prices of its stock keeping units — Whisper by 3% and Pampers by 15%. However, other players haven't considered any price cuts so far.
27 March 2011 — The Sunday Guardian.
No comments:
Post a Comment