The Hindustan Times, India
Now Bush Will Have
to Cope With Indian Pet Food Demand!
"President George W Bush
should be a worried man … Many of the new Indian middle class
have pets - so this may well drive up dog and cat food prices ...
By Amit Baruah
May 6, 2008
India
- Hindustan Times - Original Article (English)
New Delhi: U.S. President George W Bush should be a worried
man. Not only are Indians eating more and better and driving up food prices,
their dogs and cats are eating better, too. Indian spending on pet food rose
from $20 million in 2004 to $29 million in 2007.
By comparison, Americans
spent $15.2 billion feeding their cats and dogs last year, as opposed to $13.8
billion in 2004, according to euromonitor.com. But the worrying factor for
President Bush would be that Indians are just now entering the packaged pet
food buying race.
Many of the new Indian middle
class have pets - so this may well drive up the prices of dog and cat food in
the U.S.
“A surging middle class,
ongoing free-market reform, double-digit increases in dog ownership … guarantee
strong performance in this emerging market for the foreseeable future,” said
the Petfood 2011 global outlook.
“Local operators forecast
growth of 25-35 percent per year for at least the next two years, with the most
growth at the lower-end of the product-price spectrum, as more mid-level
consumers shift from homemade to prepared pet food,” the June 2007 report said.
The other key factor in
India’s rapid growth is the strong role of veterinarians in educating consumers
and selling pet food, with vets currently accounting for as much as 44 percent of
sales of commercially prepared foods, it added.
Speaking in Missouri on May
2, President Bush had said there was increasing demand for food worldwide,
which caused a spike in prices. “There are 350 million people in India who are
classified as middle class. That’s bigger than America … and when you start
getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food.”
SEE ALSO:
Hindustan Times, India
Indians Up In Arms
Over Bush Food Gaffe
The International Business Times, India
In Defense of Bush's
Gaffe on India and
Rising Food Prices
Times of India, India
Bush Bites Into Food Row;
Indians Foam at the Mouth
Financial Express, India
After all, It's the U.S.
Who 'Eats More' ...
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US May 11, 3:54am]
