Procter & Gamble (P&G), the US-based consumer goods group, has decided to increase the prices of its leading laundry detergents and toilet tissues here, at levels ahead of the rate of inflation.
From February 5th, the price of Ariel, Bold, Daz and Fairy Non Bio laundry products will rise in Ireland by an average 6.4 per cent, while its Charmin toilet tissue will increase by 5.3 per cent. These increases come at a time when the rate of inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), was 4.9 per cent in December.
It also contrasts with the decision of rival Unilever to increase the cost of its food, home and personal care products here by an average of 2 per cent in March. These include its Comfort and Surf laundry products, although it has no toilet tissue brands. Unilever increased prices by an average of 1 per cent in 2006.
P&G said this was the first price increase on these products since 2002. "Since January 2003 the CPI has risen by 12.2 per cent," the company said.
A spokesman for P&G said the increases were unavoidable. "Over the past few years, the cost of raw materials has continued to go up and has increased in some cases by as much as 20 per cent or more," he said.
"We have only raised our prices by a fraction of that amount and believe our products continue to deliver value for money to our retail customers as well as consumers."
Supermarket groups are expected to pass on the price rises directly to consumers. An executive at one of the large retailers, who asked not to be named, said it was likely that the increases would be passed on to consumers.
"It's just a question of when and to what degree," he said.
P&G does not reveal market share statistics or financial information for its Irish operation. Its laundry products, however, are among the biggest sellers in their categories in the Republic.
The group yesterday announced a 12 per cent rise in second-quarter profits to $2.86 billion (€2.2 billion). Sales rose 8 per cent to $19.73 billion.
