FMCG, paint companies feel the pain as rupee slides to an all-time low

The rupee's free fall comes at a time when FMCG and paint companies have been battling higher raw material costs for over a year, and have been forced to go for multiple rounds of price hikes

A weak rupee is playing spoilsport for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies even as they heave a sigh of relief over Indonesia lifting the ban on the export of palm oil, which is a key input for many of their products, and the government cutting taxes on transportation fuels. 

It is not just palm oil — the prices of many other inputs, including packing materials, are linked to the value of the rupee as well as global commodity prices.

Paint companies are also expected to be hit hard by the rupee’s decline against the dollar.

The rupee hit a low of 77.9275