Latin America saw a major spike in demand for rice, pasta and noodles in 2020, when the pandemic first hit the region, albeit driven in particular by rice sales in Brazil in this year. This was followed by declining sales in 2021, as consumers saw less need to stockpile, with a return to positive growth in 2022. While rice continues to lead the market, followed by pasta, the smaller category of noodles has been seeing the strongest growth in the last couple of years.
This report comes in PPT.
Rice and pasta continue to be popular food staples, with noodles also seeing increasing awareness and acceptance among Latin American consumers. While there has been upward pressure on prices across the region, this is especially true in Argentina, with its very high inflation rates. However, price rises in dried pasta have been moderated by the national Precios Cuidados programme, which establishes reference prices for a number of important products. Terrabusi, Matarazzo and Canale are among the brands included in the programme.
Countries in Latin America continue to implement new regulations aimed at warning consumers about food and beverage products that are high in fat, salt and/or sugar. For example, Brazil has now joined Mexico in requiring manufacturers to state on their packaging labels whether products contain high levels of any of these ingredients. This also comes as consumers become increasingly health conscious, particularly in the wake of the pandemic.
Although supermarkets (44%) lead sales in Brazil, the region’s biggest market, small local grocers (35%) remain the leading distribution channel in Latin America as a whole, with this type of store still accounting for as much as 94% of sales in Bolivia in 2022. E-commerce remains a small channel regionally, with less than 2% of overall retail value, and only Chile (11%) boasting an online sales share of more than 5%.
Rising inflation in 2022, which is expected to continue into 2023, is likely to impact consumers’ decision-making in the forecast period. In times of crisis, some consumers like to save money by opting for simpler affordable products, which should serve most areas of rice, past and noodles well in the immediate future. However, shoppers will likely still be looking for lower-priced products, which could favour private label and discounters in the immediate future.
NOTE: Couscous, polenta and quinoa are excluded from staple foods.
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