8 July, 2008 - Nestle India said it may be forced to increase prices for dairy and nutrition products by up to 15%, according to local sources.
The Indian subsidiary of the world’s largest food company has reportedly cited inflationary pressures as the reason behind the likely price hike.
Mayank Trivedi, Nestle India General Manager, was quoted as saying: “We may increase prices by between 5% and 15% for different products because of escalation in raw material costs and inflation, etc, depending on the situation."
In 2007, the company raised its prices by 11% in a bid to counter higher output costs, while reducing the weight of some products by up to 12%.
Nestle India has seven plants, along with a large number of co-packers. It manufactures milk , nutritional products, as well as chocolate, confectionary and beverages.
In 2007, Nestle India posted gross sales of EUR 538 million and EBITDA of EUR 102.7 million.