The prognosis for Italian consumers remains relatively grim, as we forecast that private consumption will / contract by 2.3% in 20

Private consumption growth in Japan is expected to continue to wane, as the employment outlook / remains sombre and government sub

We expect household consumption to remain extremely weak in the months ahead. European banks / remain heavily exposed to their cou

We stick to our view that the consumer outlook in Belarus will largely remain subdued for the remainder / of 2012. Indeed, despite

Our forecasts suggest household expenditure will cool through H212 and into 2013 following a prolonged / period of very strong pri

In our view, the debt hangover from a credit boom and the possibility of higher inflation could be threats / to consumer spending

Canadian consumers leveraged up during the global downturn in 2008-09, which helped to underpin / consumption and the economy as a

We continue to forecast relatively weak real Polish consumption growth of 1.5% and 2.1% in 2012 and / 2013 respectively as a slowi

We maintain our very positive outlook on Qatar’s consumer sector, as the Qatari economy will remain a / regional outperformer for

Kenya / The dynamics of a stronger currency, tight monetary policy and improved weather conditions suggest that / domestic demand

Uganda’s organised food and drink industry is accelerating off a very low base, with per capita food / consumption around US$250,

Real GDP growth in France has now stuttered to a halt against an uncertain global macroeconomic / backdrop. We therefore maintain

We expect little change from our previous quarter’s assessment of the consumer demand story in / Romania. While consumer price inf

We are acknowledging growing downside risks to our domestic demand outlook for Thailand in the / coming quarters. Consumers are li

Private consumption growth in Singapore slowed to 1.8% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q212 from 4.7% in / Q112, its worst performance sin

Venezuela faces major political and economic uncertainty in the run-up to and immediate aftermath of / the October 2012 presidenti

We see little reason to change our pessimistic outlook for the Bulgarian consumer over the remainder of / the year. We reiterate o

Sentiment towards India’s growth story is at a low ebb. Not long ago, the mainstream view was that 8% / growth would be the new no

We continue to see limited scope for growth in private consumption. Ultimately, high unemployment, / falling real wages, a large s

Food consumption is expected to rise steadily over the next five years. The authorities are also aiming to / improve government sp

The dynamics of a stronger currency, tight monetary policy and improved weather conditions suggest that / domestic demand conditio

There is tremendous room for growth on the consumer side in Tanzania. With incomes still low, there / are potentially dynamic oppo

South Sudan is capturing the attention of a number of food and drink companies in the beer, soft drink / and retail spaces. The re

BMI View: We retain our positive outlook in regards to Bahrain’s consumer sector, which has been / steadily improving over recent

Despite ongoing turmoil in global markets and renewed concerns surrounding the strength of the US, / eurozone and Chinese economie

The outlook for the Serbian economy in 2012 remains relatively grim. We have now revised down our / forecast for real GDP growth i

Slovenia's medium-term macroeconomic outlook has continued to deteriorate in recent months owing to a / combination of weak domest

BMI’s Indonesia Defence & Security Report for Q4 2012 examines the country’s strategic position in the / South East Asian region a

A host of recently released leading indicator data has reaffirmed our very positive view on Saudi / Arabia’s consumer sector, whic

The consumer story in Indonesia continues to be one of the brightest in the world, with a recent global / survey conducted by Niel

While the UK labour market has proven remarkably resilient during and after the 2008-2009 recession, / we expected consumer recove

BMI View: We hold a positive view towards Cameroon’s food, drink and mass grocery retail industries / over our forecast period, in

BMI View: We have a very positive medium-term outlook for the Ivorian food, beverage and retail / sectors. Our positive view hinge

Food consumption is expected to rise steadily over the next five years. The authorities are also aiming to / improve government sp

Libya’s near-term growth outlook was given a slight boost in late December2011 following reports that / the resumption of oil prod

Agriculture accounts for around 40% of Morocco’s total workforce, leaving the broader economy highly / dependent on grain yields.

BMI Industry View / In the short term, we expect the consumer sector to continue to be bolstered by extensive fiscal and / monetar

BMI Industry View / The ongoing slowdown in China’s economy has been well documented. In addition to real GDP growth / figures, in

BMI Industry View / While some concerns exist over the impact of external factors on the Chilean economy, given its high / relianc

BMI Industry View / Private consumption in Mexico grew 5.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q112 – the largest expansion since / before th

BMI Industry View / Domestic demand as a percentage of GDP hit a multi-year high of 114.9% in the FY2011/2012 fiscal / year – a le

BMI Industry View / BMI View: Relative to a number of other Central and West African economies, our outlook for growth in / Gabon’

The Tunisian consumer was badly affected by the political crisis. With inflows of foreign investment and / tourism being hit by th

According to US-based market research firm Nielsen, international firms are targeting Turkey as a highgrowth / market owing to its

Taken as a whole, the Caribbean consumer sector remains challenging, with the region hit hard by the / global economic downturn. M

With Australia's fortunes very much tied in with China's, due to the latter's position as its top export / partner, news that Chin

We continue to expect households to cut back and increase saving, and maintain our 2012 forecast for / consumption growth to come

Germany’s economic outlook remains clouded by the continued risk of a eurozone break-up scenario, / which would lead to an immedia

BMI View: Our positive outlook for the Zambian food, drink and mass grocery retail sectors is / predicated on our favourable outlo

Our near-term consumer outlook for Vietnam is looking increasingly worrying. Growing uncertainties over unemployment in the manufa

We continue to expect Kazakhstan to enjoy robust economic growth over the coming decade, underpinned by ongoing development of the

We see little scope for improvement in terms of Croatian consumer sentiment in the coming months, especially as the economy enters

BMI View: Mozambique has quietly been establishing itself as one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s most promising economies over the past fe

BMI View: Strong private consumption growth from an already reasonably high base (Namibia is one of the wealthiest countries in Su

Domestic demand in South Korea in the short term is likely to be impaired by the slowdown in economic activity, as the unemploymen

BMI View: We highlight that, despite the gloomy short-term outlook for the economy, the core dynamics that have attracted many com

BMI View: Following weeks of speculation and apocalyptic warnings of a potential exit from the eurozone, Greek elections have yiel

BMI View: Fiscal austerity, lacklustre price consumption and continued weakness within Ireland's housing market still weigh heavil

Colombia's economic backdrop over the last 12 months has seen strong credit growth and lower unemployment driving consumption. How

We are relatively optimistic about the near-term domestic demand conditions in Malaysia. Cash handouts / targeted at around 5.2mn

The Czech consumer outlook continues to remain extremely challenging. Nonetheless, we hold to our / forecast for the Czech Republi

Our overarching view on the US economy is that the recovery will remain slow and erratic, with both / fears of recession and hopes

BMI View: Angola has one of the strongest economic growth outlooks in Sub-Saharan Africa, and we are / unsurprisingly bullish on t

BMI View: Amid solid but unspectacular mining-led economic growth, we expect to see below-trend / private consumption growth of 5.

Following a difficult 2011, Nigerian consumers have felt the squeeze in the early months of 2012 on the back of high fuel prices.

Following a year which BMI believes saw growth in all freight modes but one, 2012 will signal a slowdown, with moderate decrease i

Even though its population falls short of the 18mn mark, Chile leapfrogged Brazil to top our Latin / America Risk/Reward Ratings m

The prospect of an investment-led hard landing in China remains our overriding concern, and consumer / activity would clearly not

Indonesia has an ace up its sleeve relative to Asia's more external demand-driven economies. / Consumption comprises approximately

Our outlook for the Saudi Arabian consumer sector remains bright, in line with the latest economic / indicators. The Saudi Arabian

Angola BMI View: Angola has one of the strongest economic growth outlooks in Sub-Saharan Africa, and we are unsurprisingly bullish

Our outlook on Kuwait’s consumer confidence remains positive, although we have recently turned less optimistic on the country’s gr

BMI View: We hold a positive view towards Cameroon’s food, drink and mass grocery retail industries over our forecast period, in l

The figures reported by Mexico's retail association attest to the weakness in the Mexican consumer sector earlier in 2011, with co

Most Central American economies have improved their resilience to external shocks in recent years, primarily through the diversifi

Further fiscal austerity, falling house prices, and household deleveraging will combine with a weaker external demand environment

The short-term domestic demand conditions in South Korea are expected to be constrained by household debt deleveraging and a deter

We expect a slow recovery of the US economy during the current year, on the back of improving employment figures and also strength

We see little scope for improvement in consumer confidence levels in Slovakia in the course of the year. Although the new governme

The latest data on real GDP growth reinforce our view that Ghana is at the beginning of a multi-year economic boom fuelled by the

As we previously noted, the consumer outlook for Belarus will remain extremely challenging, with inflation expected to skyrocket.

We expect households to be hard hit over 2012, with unemployment at 9.9% (a 12 year high) and likely to rise further and leading i

Heightened consumer price sensitivity will remain a dominant theme in India over the coming quarters, with tight credit conditions

Growth in the consumer sector has consistently been a bright spot in Nigeria's economy, with many of the fastest-growing industrie

Whereas a vigorous labour market and strong tourist arrival growth will provide some support for domestic demand, private consumpt

Slovenia is a developed food and drink market, served by modern mass grocery retail network. Its maturity, combined with the small

We are acknowledging growing downside risks to our domestic demand outlook for Thailand in the coming quarters. Consumers are like

In the decade ahead, Ukraine’s GDP per capita is expected to remain one of the lowest in Europe. While there is still enormous unr

Private consumption was pretty strong in the latter stages of 2011, a trend which is likely to be continued in the early stages of

The Bulgarian consumer outlook will remain challenging over the short- to medium-term at least. Issues / such as economic difficul

The Hungarian consumer outlook will continue to provide little optimism for food and drink companies. / The country’s economy is e

With Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) characterised by a weak economic outlook and largely poor / demographics, Romania still hold

Ongoing disinflation, low unemployment and relatively low household leverage suggest that domestic / demand conditions in Russia w

Saudi Arabia’s positive growth outlook and its favourable demographics support our outlook for a strong / consumer sector. Through

Spain looks set to sink into economic depression as the government pushes ahead with increasingly / aggressive fiscal austerity am

In January 2012, Tesco issued a profit warning after posting lacklustre UK results for the Christmas / period. Tesco has attribute

Given the high savings rate of the Chinese consumer, private consumption will be an outperformer to the / manufacturing, investmen

We have revised up our 2012 forecast for real GDP growth in Colombia, from 4.5% to 4.7%, as we / believe economic growth will rema

Despite the fact that its population does not exceed 18mn, we continue to view Chile as the second most / attractive market in Lat

The ever-deepening eurozone debt crisis is proving a major challenge to Germany’s economic growth / model. Further escalation of t

We continue to like Indonesia as a regional outperformer, with countries more dependent on external / trade, such as Singapore, fe

The headwinds of slowing remittance growth and prolonged weakness of Pakistani financial assets / will continue to weigh on domest

Poland's strong domestic demand story continues to look solid and we expect Poland's status as regional / outperformer will contin

Due to IMF-supervised macroeconomic stability, strong foreign direct investment inflows and export / competitiveness the fundament

BMI View: With double-digit or high single-digit average annual growth forecast for food, beverage and mass grocery retail sales t

Although Turkey’s medium-term macroeconomic outlook has deteriorated significantly in recent months owing to a confluence of domes

BMI View: We believe the Greek economy will remain mired in depression through 2012 as deep fiscal retrenchment and internal deva

With dynamic consumer growth, a population of nearly 200mn and a relatively favourable business environment, it is clear to see w

We continue to remain cautious regarding Bahrain’s consumer sector in particular as the country continues to suffer from sluggish

The Czech consumer outlook remains very challenging. As austerity measures continue, both household and government spending are ex

BMI View: South Korea’s consumption spending in 2012 will remain constrained by high household debt burden and a deteriorating mac

Egypt's near-term growth outlook remains weak. Nevertheless, in an outlook pertinent for our food and drink forecasts, household a

Our outlook for Ireland's long-term growth requires a rebalancing of the economy towards exports. We are fairly optimistic that Ir

We are cautiously optimistic on the near-term domestic demand outlook of Malaysia. A deteriorating macroeconomic outlook is expect

Growing macroeconomic headwinds in Europe and the government's firm adherence to additional fiscal consolidation will see the Lith

BMI View: Domestic demand conditions in the Philippines are expected to soften in 2012. While remittance growth has held up well i

While significant downside political and economic risks remain in play, the stability provided by the functional unity government

We expect 2012 to be a challenging year for Slovak consumers and businesses, with both domestic and external risks becoming increa

Growth in organised retailing is playing a major role in the development of Central America’s consumer sector, with the local unit

While the lives of Japanese consumers are slowly returning to normal after the March tragedy, they are now facing growing external

We continue to retain our bullish outlook for Qatar owing to its enviable hydrocarbon-based economy. We are pencilling in a 28.0%

South Africa is an established regional powerhouse, standing out as an attractive destination among other emerging markets given t

The middle class in the US has struggled over the past decade as its share of the country’s wealth fell. We expect consumption gro

The latest results from Canadian retailers suggest that the consumer market continues to be something of an outperformer in terms

The ongoing global headwinds, particularly the poor outlook for growth in the US and sovereign debt concerns in the eurozone, pose

The rate of growth remains anaemic in Italy. The onset of fiscal austerity amid a deterioration in eurozone economic activity will

We remain cautious on the near-term retail outlook for Taiwan. A bleak outlook on the global economic environment, especially that

The consumer outlook for Belarus will remain extremely challenging, largely on account of massive currency devaluation and skyrock

Sub-Saharan Africa has done relatively well post-2008 in comparison with the rest of the global economy, with many countries in th

There is no question that the past few years have been difficult, but recently Ukraine had started to look better on the consumer

The Dutch economy returned to growth in 2010, with full-year GDP coming in at 1.8% year-on-year (yo-y). However, in the second hal

While the domestic economy will find strength in Singapore’s job and tourism market, consumption is / typically hit hard as expor

Chile-based retailer Cencosud has revealed that it remains committed to Peru following the election of / left-leaning President O

The French market has been primarily driven by trends toward value, with private labels and discount retail the big winners in thi

The impact of higher borrowing costs, stubborn price pressures, and falling asset prices has taken its toll on domestic demand con

We have undertaken a major overhaul of our Business Environment Ratings (BER) methodology for Q112, which emphasises which markets

According to a host of leading indicator data, Spain's economic recovery remains weak by regional standards, and we hold to our fo

Consumer-facing sectors in Thailand have come under pressure from recent floods in the country, with the tourism and retail sector

In November 2011, the Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chávez enacted a new law imposing price freezes across a range of fa

Bulgaria will remain considered one of the less attractive Central and Eastern Europe food and drinks markets. In fact, following

In economic terms, Hungary is considered a regional underperformer. This view, in combination with the high level of maturity of i

Indonesian GDP growth came in at a strong 6.5% year-on-year (y-o-y) in Q211 for a third straight quarter, marking the economy’s c

Poland was the only European economy to escape recession in 2009, and this had much to do with the consumer. Fast-forwarding to 2

Consumer confidence remains weak in Slovenia. Domestic demand problems continue to hold back the wider economy, which is further

The retail sector has had to face up to all sorts of issues in 2011 with low confidence, a rise in the VAT rate and high fuel pric

Chile’s consumer sector is more developed than many in Latin America leaving less room for growth. A population of only 17mn also

On the back of strong domestic demand, stable credit growth and favourable terms of trade, the Colombian economy continues to grow

A more challenging global economic environment and the intensifying sovereign debt crisis plaguing the eurozone continue to underm

There are opposing pressures to our near-term domestic demand outlook for Pakistan. On the downside, Pakistan's remittance boom, w

The outlook for Saudi Arabia’s consumer sector remains very positive. We expect strong economic growth in the near term, and the l

The fundamentals of the Serbian economy remain relatively strong thanks to IMF-supervised macroeconomic stability, strong foreign

On the back of economic recovery, Latvia significantly improved its position in BMI’s latest version of the Business Environment R

Over the longer term Mexico is expected to remain as an emerging market underperformer with our growth projections beyond 2011 sig

Argentina has bounced back impressively from recession. However, where we believe consumption could be affected in the medium-term

In the event of a pronounced correction in investment spending, a slump in exports and banking sector instability, we find it high

Household expenditure has grown over recent years, stimulated by the strong domestic food production industry and high per capita

Our outlook on the UAE’s food and drink sector remains very positive in light of recent developments. We recently revised up our f

Estonia is still considered one of a lower medium-tier food and drink investment destinations in the Emerging Europe region. While

The Queensland floods, a strong Australian dollar and declining consumer spending have darkened our Australian retail picture in 2

Within the Caribbean there are several markets, including the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago, which have bounced back

BMI View: A reversal in Hong Kong’s booming property market will inevitably weigh on consumer purchasing power and curtail spendin

Kazakhstan’s attractiveness to foreign food and beverage manufacturers is considerable on account of the country’s economic develo

Lebanon's economy is set to slow through 2011 and into 2012 as a combination of elevated commodity prices and a spike in political

The State Bank of Vietnam’s aggressive monetary tightening measures are expected to take the steam out of domestic demand over the

With a population of nearly 200mn, dynamic consumer growth and a relatively favourable business environment, it is easy to see why

We remain very positive on our outlook for Kuwait, as it continues to be a relatively stable country in an increasingly volatile r

Turkey remains one of the most promising emerging markets, having rebounded from the 2009 recession very strongly. Its economy con

Croatian consumer confidence has been severely impacted by two years of economic contraction, with real GDP having declining by 6.

The Czech consumer outlook will remain challenging, at least in the short term. Household and government spending are expected to

Ukraine’s consumer outlook appears to be improving, although high inflation continues to weigh down on real wages. In fact, we no

Tight labour conditions, higher wages and increasing tourism levels are expected to have a strong knockon effect on the consumer-f

Largely known for oil until now, private consumption is going to become a lot more important to the Nigerian economy over the nex

Although the Dutch economy returned to growth in 2010 with full-year GDP coming in at 1.8% year-onyear, slowing export growth and

The consumer outlook for Belarus has worsened over the past months, with the trend of premiumisation definitely put on hold. Infl

Consumer spending on food and drink in France has remained generally lacklustre, with consumers showing much less dynamism than el

In BMI’s Food and Drink Business Environment Ratings (BER) table for Q411, Romania continued improving its matrix position, as a r

If Russian consumer stocks were the big outperformers in 2010, easily beating the benchmark RTS, financials and oil & gas with som

Domestic demand will remain the bright spot in Thailand’s near-term economic outlook. Despite economic headwinds quickly piling up

The ongoing threat of socialist reforms, combined with the recent currency devaluation and price caps on certain goods, continues

In our Q411 update of the Risk/Reward Ratings for the Central and Eastern Europe, Bulgaria ranks 10 instead of 12, out of the 15 k

Hungary continues to fall down the table in this quarter’s Food and Drink Business Environment Ratings. While the country continue

Relatively sheltered from the global headwinds and supported by its massive domestic consumption base, Indonesia managed to emerge

According to a host of leading indicator data, Spain's economic recovery remains weak by regional standards, and we hold to our fo

We maintain our view of a slowdown in domestic demand in China over the latter half of 2011. Inflationary pressures are proving st

With data hard to come by, assessing the state of the UAE consumer is not always clear-cut. Leading up to 2009, the economy was bo

Taken as a whole, the Caribbean consumer sector remains challenging, with the region hit hard by the global economic downturn. Mar

Our outlook for Kuwait remains positive, and we have revised up our GDP forecasts on the back of the massive increase in spending

The recent political tensions in Bahrain will weigh on consumer confidence, especially as there is no resolution in sight. Lacking

Brazil continues to top BMI’s Latin America Risk/Reward rating thanks to its very high Reward rating. This reflects the fact that

BMI sees Kazakhstan as one of the Commonwealth of Independent States’ most promising consumer markets. With a population of close

While the long-term domestic demand credentials of the BRIC economies are often heralded, Turkey also has a lot going for it and m

The State Bank of Vietnam’s aggressive monetary tightening measures in H111 are expected to take the steam out of domestic demand

The Croatian economy has experienced two years of economic contraction, with real GDP declining by 6.0% in 2009 and 1.2% in 2010.

The Czech consumer remains relatively weak, with high unemployment relative to the pre-downturn era contributing strongly to ongoi

The latest data for Greek retail sales point to a significant worsening in demand, with retail sales down by an average of 10.2% d

While Malaysian export growth is expected to be relatively subdued in the near term, we remain optimistic that domestic demand wil

BMI View: We maintain our view of a healthy domestic demand picture for South Korea in the near term. Buoyant labour market condit

Although Egypt's economic and political risk profile may deteriorate in the short term, this does not take away from the fact that

Over the last 18 months the majority of food and drink stocks listed on the Irish stock market have outperformed the wider index.

Qatar remains a beacon of stability in the increasingly volatile Middle East region, which is reflected in our positive outlook bo

Since the start of 2011 consumer staple stocks have outperformed their discretionary counterparts. The underperformance of consume

The Canadian consumer demonstrated particular resilience throughout the downturn, as reflected in figures for private consumption

Per capita food consumption in Central America is expected to continue its steady expansion in the coming years, albeit from a low

Ghana has a lot of things going for it. Our Africa team expects it to be a major economic outperformer over the coming years on bo

The Italian economy remains anchored on the road to recovery, but a return to previous trend growth rates seems unlikely for now.

BMI’s Q311 update of the Romania Telecommunications Report contains analysis of the market data from the major fixed telephony, br

The Dutch economy returned to growth in 2010 with full-year GDP coming in at 1.8% year-on-year (y-oy). This growth has had a posit

Largely known for oil until now, private consumption is going to become a lot more important to the Nigerian economy over the next

Russian consumer stocks were the big outperformers in 2010, easily beating the benchmark RTS, financials and oil & gas. The retail

We maintain our upbeat near-term and long-term consumer outlook for Singapore. We like its strong domestic demand story, with posi

The global economic crisis negatively affected consumer confidence and consumer spending in France. It also exacerbated the trend

The outlook for consumer spending in Slovakia is currently relatively positive. We expect the Slovak economy to experience a susta

Consumer goods companies looking to play Thailand’s domestic demand story have much to look forward to over the coming years. A po

While strong industrial activity and exports will keep economic growth well supported, household consumption in Belarus will be co

The lagged impact of the central bank’s aggressive monetary tightening is expected to take the steam out of domestic demand over t

Fuelled by the prospect of social unrest, the massive government stimulus programme announced by Riyadh has altered our growth out

Over recent quarters there have been some signs of improvement within the Spanish grocery sector, with food retail sales growth ba

For the Q311 update of our proprietary Business Environment Ratings (BER) matrix for the 15 key Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) m

In our view Venezuela's economic recovery from its two-year recession will be shaky, as we expect positive real GDP growth to be a

The near-term domestic demand outlook for Indonesia looks positive on the back of optimistic consumer confidence, continued touris

Poland remains in pole position in our latest business environment ratings for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, which

In BMI’s Food and Drink Business Environment Ratings (BER) table for Q311, Romania remains ninth (out of 15 key regional markets),

While large foreign retailers and manufacturers from further afield in Europe have been expressing interest in the Serbian market,

As one of only a handful of countries that have not seen large-scale public demonstrations as a result of the regional upheaval, p

The latest retail sales data suggests that the UK consumer sector can be expected to remain challenging during 2011, as previously

The Growth of Asia Food Retailing Opportunities and Implications / BMI View: The spread of organised grocery retail will continue

Bulgaria has marginally improved its position within the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Business Environment Ratings (BER) for Q

While the Chilean economy has managed considerable diversification away from the mining sector, mineral exports, of copper in part

Germany's economic recovery is in full swing with base effects, the improving domestic consumer climate and strong foreign demand

As expected, Hungary has been overtaken by Turkey in our quarterly Business Environment Rating (BER) matrix for the 15 key markets

We are holding to a mixed near-term consumer outlook for Pakistan. On the one hand, increasing remittance inflows augur well for h

Stubborn inflationary pressures and expected weakness in the Chinese property market are preventing the country’s domestic demand

The latest results posted by leading Mexican retailers point to a rather sluggish performance within the consumer sector. For exam

Slovenia continues to be viewed as a stable, yet not entirely enticing, target for food and drinks manufacturers. In our proprieta

The combination of the recent Queensland floods, strong Australian dollar and declining home values paints a delicate picture for

The consumer outlook for the Caribbean food and drink market will remain dependent on the number of internal and external factors.

The results posted by leading Colombian retailer Almacenes Exito for 2010 point to a sustained growth in domestic demand. This str

We believe Kuwait's economy will be only minimally affected by the political tensions that erupted in the start of 2011, and forec

A large, youthful population and a rapid influx of foreign direct investment as firms seek to take advantage of this favourable de

The Irish consumer sector remains one of the most challenging in Europe, with price-consciousness still the dominant theme, althou

The 8.9-9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 2011 has dealt the Japanese consumer a severe blow. Str

Our outlook for Qatar continues to be broadly positive, particularly as the country remains an oasis of stability in an increasing

The big downside risk for the US economy in 2011 – that taxes rise and unemployment benefits were not extended – actually turned i

Accommodative interest rates and wage growth also helped considerably as the South African consumer came back promisingly, althoug

The coming year should be a transformative one for the Ghanaian economy. The onset of oil production should propel real GDP growth

The Canadian economy has been decelerating rather more quickly than we had anticipated. We have lowered our real GDP growth estima

Due to large income inequalities, average per capita food consumption (food and drink, excluding alcoholic drinks) in Central Amer

Thanks to the outperformance of Parmalat and Campari the FTSE Italia Food and Beverage Index has outperformed the FTSE Italia All

The importance of the Nigerian consumer to the economy will grow considerably over the next few years. Whether it is measured by e

The Singapore consumer remains in strong shape. Tight labour conditions, higher wages and increasing tourism levels are expected t

The latest United Arab Emirates (UAE) Oil & Gas Report from BMI forecasts that the country will account for 6.09% of Middle Easter

BMI continues to forecast steady growth of food consumption in Belarus in the near term, as the economy continues to hold up fairl

France’s economic growth and consumption levels improved during 2010. However, we believe the strength of the consumer is unlikely

The Indian consumer sector is gaining dynamic momentum both in the near and long term. It has a number of factors in its favour, i

The Dutch economy returned to growth in 2010 with full-year GDP coming in at 1.7% year-on-year (y-oy). This growth has had a posit

In BMI’s Food and Drink Business Environment Ratings (BER) table for Q211, Romania moved up one place, now ranking ninth out of th

Russian consumer stocks were the big outperformers in 2010, easily beating the benchmark RTS, financials and oil & gas. The retail

Slovakia’s consumer outlook is expected to continue recovering slowly, but to nowhere near the predownturn rates over the near ter

Robust domestic economic growth, led by a very positive outlook for private consumption, a strong looking labour market and positi

The outlook for consumer spending in Ukraine will remain shaped by the prevailing economic conditions, including the inflation lev

The situation in Venezuela has continued to worsen recently, reflected in the country's position firmly at the bottom of our Risk/

BMI View: In spite of inflationary pressures, we maintain our optimistic outlook for the Indonesian food and drink market. Favoura

While nobody can deny the raw potential of its consumer sector, Pakistan continues to struggle to get into its stride. It remains

Poland remains in pole position in our latest business environment ratings for the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, which

Saudi Arabia possesses one thing that the rest of the Gulf region does not: a large population. It contributes about two-thirds of

The performance of the leading UK food retailers over the important Christmas period sets a stall out for the forthcoming year and

BMI View: A very dynamic consumer story is taking shape in Vietnam. In the near term, rising wages and improving tourist arrivals

In BMI’s Q211 Business Environment Ratings (BER) matrix for the 15 major markets of Central and Eastern Europe, Bulgaria again ran

Despite signs of saturation in some sectors, such as soft drinks and beer, the amount that Chilean consumers spend on food and dri

BMI View: The near- and long-term consumer-facing scenes in China are filled with dynamism. In the near term, increasing real wage

Consumer consumption levels in Hungary have been deteriorating for a number of years now. Our Europe team believes a very large st

In recent months there have been some signs of improvement within the grocery sector, with food retail sales growth back in positi

Although there have been signs of improvement over recent months, consumer confidence in the UAE remains some way off that of the

BMI’s Food and Drink Business Environment Ratings (BER) regional matrix for Q211, Serbia is ranked joint tenth, on par with Estoni

Slovenia is expected to remain a regional underperformer through the medium term, with real GDP growth coming in at a lacklustre 2

We are holding on to a cautious outlook for the Australian consumer sector over 2011-2012 as we expect private consumption to take

BMI Industry View: We expect local conditions for the development of food and drink and mass grocery (MGR) markets in the Caribbea

The consumer picture in Colombia looks relatively positive over our five year forecast period. A reduction in credit, higher unemp

BMI Industry View: Germany's economic recovery is in full swing with base effects, the improving domestic consumer climate and str

Our outlook for Kuwait’s food and drink industry continues to be positive, as the country’s economy has been solidly recovering si

Malaysia’s near-term and long-term consumer outlooks seem fairly positive. Strong private consumption growth, increasing retail sa

While the long-term domestic demand credentials of the BRIC economies are often heralded, Turkey also has a lot going for it and m

Croatia is currently our least favourite market in the latest version of the regional matrix ranking companies’ attractiveness to

While 2010 was expected to mark the return to positive economic growth, following a 4.1% GDP contraction in 2009, growth was relat

Greece remains rooted to the bottom of BMI's Western Europe Food and Drink Risk/Reward ratings, weighed down by the country’s dire

BMI Industry View Although the Kazakh banking sector recently suffered a crisis, the situation has now been resolved through the s

Our growth forecasts for Bahrain remain well below previous trend levels, although there are some better prospects on the horizon.

After a barnstorming 2010, the challenge for Brazil in 2011 will be to turn this strength into a sustainable economic growth traje

Following years of dismal news from Zimbabwe’s food and drink sector, things appeared to be looking / up in 2010. Over the past de

With control of around 25% of the market, Tesco Ireland is the country's largest grocery retailer and one of the firms hit hard by

Argentina’s relatively large population and strong consumption culture bode well for investment across the food and drink sector o

We believe Peru offers one of the most dynamic food and drink sectors in the region, with strong forecasts for economic growth and

Severely impacted by the global financial crisis, consumer spending in Japan remains highly fragile, with high unemployment levels

The recovery in consumer spending in Russia has shown signs of cooling off in recent months, with disposable income and retail sal

BMI View: Still-low food consumption levels and a relatively less explosive growth outlook mean that the / Philippines continues t

BMI View: Despite lacking the most significant ingredient for robust private consumption growth, that isa favourable demographic p

The Central American food and drink sector has continued to attract significant investment over the lastthree months. In perhaps t

Canadian consumer outlook remains considerably more promising than that of its North American peer. Consumer spending has held up

We continue viewing Egypt as one of the most promising emerging markets on a global scale. Companies wishing to diversify from the

With Qatar forecast to remain among the fastest growing economies in the world in coming years, it should come as no surprise that

BMI View: Despite our near- to medium-term optimism in the South Korean consumer story, the country’s ageing population and low fe

The continued success of the discount retail sector in the US supports our view of a two speed recovery in the US economy. The eco

In BMI’s latest Business Environment Ranking (BER) matrix for the Emerging Europe region, Estonia ranks in a slightly-improved nin

Hong Kong’s food and drink market continues to pay the price for its maturity and its proximity to China, the bulk of industry inv

Arguably Africa’s most enigmatic market, Nigeria deals in extremes. On the one hand, a rapidly rising population of 160mn, underde

Lithuania ranks sixth in our new Business Environment Rankings (BER) table for the 15 key markets in the emerging Europe region (a

In BMI’s latest Business Environment Ranking (BER) matrix for the Asia Pacific region, Taiwan has risen to fifth place (out of 14

Ghana's domestic demand story looks increasingly exciting. It was probably already West Africa's most well rounded and equitable g

A strong food culture means that Italy has one of the highest levels of per capita spending on food and drink in the world. Howeve

The Australia Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers ana

The China Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers analysi

The India Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers analysi

The Indonesia Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers ana

The Malaysia Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers anal

The Thailand Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers anal

The Vietnam Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers analy

The Singapore Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers ana

The Russia Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers analys

The Egypt Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers analysi

The Saudi Arabia Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers

The United Arab Emirates Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and su

The South Africa Food & Drink Competitive Intelligence Report is an essential resource for manufacturers, investors and suppliers

Our expectations for high growth in the Central American consumer market were supported in the last quarter by the world’s largest

BMI View: the consumer picture in Colombia looks relatively positive over our five year forecast period. A reduction in credit, hi

Spain's economic problems have not spared the food and drink industry, with sales growth in this sector stuck in negative territor

Since establishing itself as a fairly high-spending and business-friendly market for Western food, drink and retail companies up u

With a population nearing 25mn, and making up nearly two thirds of the Gulf consumer market, Saudi Arabia is the only Gulf state w

Bulgaria remains, in our opinion, one of the least attractive food and drinks markets in the emerging Europe region. A poor econom

The Vietnamese economy appears to be solidly on the road to recovery, with BMI now forecasting real GDP growth of 6.0%, in light o

BMI View: Indonesia’s private consumption oriented economy remains strong, and we continue to believe that solid long-term growth

Those Caribbean countries that are heavily reliant on the tourism industry have found it more difficult to shake off the effects o

German consumers are characterised by high saving rates and extreme price sensitivity. In 2006 and 2007 there were signs this coul

While the UAE is in the middle of a fairly robust economic recovery, with GDP growth of 4.8% forecast for 2010, much of the growth

The fiscal problems faced by Greece have prompted us to downgrade our forecasts for food and drink consumption, with austerity mea

The outlook for Kuwait’s food and drink sector appears to be improving as consumer confidence looks to be on the rise. However, it

Turkey's short-term consumer spending outlook emphatically distinguishes it from the rest of emerging Europe, with trends far deta

After falling flat in 2009 due to low consumer confidence and high levels of unemployment, consumer spending in Bahrain appears to

BMI View: Malaysia’s food and drink industry continues to recover from the slowdown experienced in 2009 with many of the country’s

BMI View: A mature market, in which we expect reduced consumer confidence in 2011 as a secondary Chinese slowdown and a growing pu

BMI Industry View / Kazakhstan is easily our favourite Central Asian consumer market. Its growth over the coming years will be sup

BMI Industry View / Our expectations for Croatia’s short-term outlook for its food and drinks market is relatively guarded, given

The Canadian consumer sector offered steady growth in the years leading up to the global financial crisis and has also proved to b

We are forecasting that the Central American consumer market is set to grow in prominence over the next five years. This trend is

Egypt remains the most promising Middle East and North Africa consumer market with significant scope for growth across the key foo

The prognosis from Ireland over the last quarter remains gloomy. For example, trade body Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) r

Consumer confidence is returning slowly after headline retail sales (compiled by Statistics South Africa) declined for 14 consecut

The ramifications of the Kraft acquisition of Cadbury continue to unfold. In May the US food giant posted its first results post a

In the drinks sector there are signs that French giant Pernod Ricard could be preparing for further divestitures after the firm's

The ramifications of the Kraft acquisition of Cadbury continue to unfold. In May the US food giant posted its first results post a

The Chinese economy appears to be well on its way to recovery following the effects of the global / financial crisis, with real GD

Despite the slowdown in investments on the back of the global financial crisis, the Vietnamese drinks / sector continues to attrac

In November 2009 German wholesaler Metro Cash & Carry unveiled a revamped private label range as / it seeks to adjust its offering

The US$10bn bailout provided by Abu Dhabi’s government to Dubai World’s property arm Nakheel / was unquestionably the quarter’s he

Weighed down by the global financial crisis with 2009 GDP growth estimated at 0.15%, Saudi Arabia is expected to register modest G

As the Australian economy continues to improve, consumer confidence has started to grow and this in turn will provide a boost to t

The Malaysian economy is continuing on its path to recovery, with GDP expected to expand 4.3% in 2010 before accelerating to 5.6%

Having been placed third in the previous quarter, in Q310, the Czech Republic is found in fourth position in the Emerging Europe B

With Turkey’s economy already showing signs of recovery, a number of major players in the food and drink sector have started to an

The rum sector is one of the Caribbean’s most advanced industries and the region has attracted significant investment from leading

Despite improvements made over H209 (calendar), consumer confidence in Kuwait remains some way off its pre-downturn 2009 peak with

Investments are continuing to pour into China’s troubled dairy sector, as the industry posts a strong recovery following 2008’s me

In BMI’s Q310 Business Environment Ratings (BER) for the 15 major markets of the emerging Europe region, Bulgaria has risen to 12t

Having lost its pole position to Russia in 2009, Hungary remains second in our updated Food and Drink Business Environment Ratings

In BMI’s Q310 Food and Drink Business Environment Ratings (BER) matrix for the 15 key Emerging European markets, Serbia remains in

In BMI's updated Food and Drinks Business Environment Ratings (BER) matrix for the Emerging Europe region, Slovenia remains consid

In BMI’s Food and Drink Business Environment Ratings (BER) table for Q310, Romania again places ninth out of the 15 key markets su

Arguably the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region’s most dynamic food and drink long-term growth market, Egypt continues to

Pencilled in for encouraging GDP growth of 2.6% following an estimated 1.8% contraction in 2009 and with the upcoming 2010 FIFA Wo

The Gulf region’s wealthiest state by GDP per capita, Qatar places second behind the UAE in BMI’s regional food and drink business

Despite Greece’s current economic strife, the country’s spirit and beer industries are judged to have longterm potential due to th

The Kazakh government looking to diversify the non-oil sector by investing in developing strategic industries, as well as the nati

Bahrain returns to the top of BMI’s Middle East region Food & Drink Business Environment Ratings table for Q310. Replacing the UAE

The challenging economic and demographic factors, such as high unemployment levels and low overall population numbers, will contin

At the start of 2010, the Venezuelan bolivar was devalued, with the government obliged to cut the value of its currency to improve

In 2008 the Dutch economy proved to be one of the most resilient in Western Europe, with unemployment falling and GDP growth comin

Over the past decade, the Slovak food market developed and matured rapidly, shaped by political and economic reforms in the late 1

Despite the economic downturn and the negative impact this has had on consumer confidence, the Nigerian drinks industry continues

While the Japanese economy is showing some signs of recovery following the global economic downturn, BMI is forecasting that this

South Korea’s economy continues to improve and as such we have raised our full-year 2009 and 2010 growth forecasts from -1.9% and

The economic and natural advantages encouraging multinational firms to build production facilities in Chile is reflected in the ne

In BMI’s Q210 Business Environment Ratings (BER) matrix for emerging Europe, Slovenia remains in seventh position out of the 15 ke

We have upwardly revised the value of Serbia’s food consumption in 2009, which we now expect increased by an estimated 2.5% in loc

In BMI’s Q210 Business Environment Ratings (BER) matrix for the 15 key markets of the emerging Europe region, the Czech Republic r

Although Singapore has been badly affected by the global slowdown, the recession is not expected to have any lasting impact on the

Following the economic slump of 2009, the Turkish economy is showing strong signs of recovery, with real GDP growth forecast to ri

The Malaysian economy looks set to witness a strong recovery following the effects of the global financial crisis. As such we have

Forecast to record a tentative recovery in 2010, Kuwait’s export oriented economy came under strain in 2009 as depressed global se

Despite Greece falling into recession in 2009, we expect the country to be one of the quickest to recover as the global economic s

A move towards high-margin value-added food products is a long-term goal for many fruit and vegetable producers in the Caribbean.

The Australian economy appears to be recovering from the effects of the global economic downturn and as such we retain our full-ye

With oil prices trending higher on the back of improving global demand conditions, we expect the Kazakh economy to return to posit

In BMI’s Q210 Business Environment Ratings (BER) matrix for the 15 main markets of emerging Europe, Croatia remained in 13th place

Over the last 18 months the Colombian beer sector has been hard hit by the economic downturn. This will be aggravated by the recen

With a robust recovery underway, 2010 is shaping up to be another impressive year for the Brazilian economy. Indeed, BMI has recen

BMI Industry View / Although consumer confidence in Dubai remains weak following the December 2009 Dubai World interlude with a r

Brazil’s strong economic rebound from recession has demonstrated the remarkable resilience of the Brazilian consumer. This is repr

A strong case can be made for Ghana to be considered Sub-Saharan Africa’s most well rounded growth story. Able to call on a large

In BMI’s Q310 Business Environment Ratings (BER) for the 15 major markets of the emerging Europe region, Bulgaria has risen to 12t

Having lost its pole position to Russia in 2009, Hungary remains second in our updated Food and Drink Business Environment Ratings