Describing pressures posed by high inflation as “unprecedented,” chairman of ITC Ltd Sanjiv Puri on Wednesday said the food inflation has adversely impacted sale volumes of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products.
“Inflationary pressures are unprecedented. Both energy and food are impacted,” Puri said pointing out how wheat, sugar, milk, soya and others food items have been impacted.
Puri was in Ahmedabad for the inaugural function of ITC Narmada, the group’s 12th property in the state.
“Primarily it impacts our FMCG businesses. We buy these commodities. Because of high inflation there is bound to be some impact on volumes for the industry. Despite inflationary pressures, we have experienced robust growth in last quarter, but the volume growth could have been better… Challenges like this pose a lot of internal pressure for innovation, cost optimisation and belt-tightening. That is what we are doing,” he said when asked about the high inflation in the country.
Puri said that it was difficult to predict when inflation will cool off. “We are seeing green shoots of inflation cooling off. Edible oil for example, there are some green shoots. There are too many moving parts to predict,” he added.
Investments in Gujarat
The chairman of ITC Ltd said that the company has so far invested Rs 1000 crore in Gujarat. “We are now setting up a state-of-art packaging unit at Nadiad which is also expected to be commissioned this financial year,” he added.
Talking about ITC Narmada, that was inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, he said, “This will be 12th hotel in the state. It is tribute to the rich culture and heritage of Gujarat. We have been inspired by some of the monuments in Gujarat… This hotel is also the first LEED Platinum certified hotel in the state.”