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☆ Recent disruptions at Apple facilities in India
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

NEW DELHI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Apple (AAPL.O) supplier Pegatron on Monday temporarily halted iPhone assembly at its Chennai facility in India's Tamil Nadu state after a fire at the factory. Apple has been eyeing a large manufacturing base in India since it began iPhone assembly in the country in 2017. Apple products in India are currently manufactured through contracts with firms including Foxconn (2317.TW), Wistron Corp (3231.TW) and Pegatron Corp (4938.TW). It has a total of 14 suppliers with facilities in India. Apple later found facilities did not meet required standards.

Persons: Pegatron, Apple, Blassy, Mark Potter Organizations: Apple, Wistron Corp, Pegatron Corp, Workers, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil, Karnataka

CHENNAI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - Apple supplier Pegatron temporarily halted iPhone assembly at its facility in south India on Monday after a fire on Sunday night, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Pegatron accounts for 10% of Apple's iPhone production in India, according to research firm Counterpoint. Apple has bet big on India since it began iPhone assembly in the country in 2017 via Wistron (3231.TW) and later Foxconn (2317.TW), as the Indian government pushed for local manufacturing. Pegatron, which started iPhone assembly in India in September last year, is also in talks to open a second Indian contract facility for Apple near the existing one in Tamil Nadu. In February, a fire at a south Indian facility of Foxlink for iPhone charging cables forced it to halt production.

Persons: TW, Pegatron, Ben Blanchard, Praveen, Munsif Vengattil, Aditi Shah, Sarah Wu, Toby Chopra, Susan Fenton, Mark Potter Organizations: Apple, Pegatron, Reuters, Local, Thomson Locations: CHENNAI, India, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Wistron, Indian

☆ Shami says India's rotation policy is having positive impact
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 23 (Reuters) - India seamer Mohammed Shami says the team's rotation policy is working well and will prevent players from being overloaded as they prepare for the World Cup on home soil next month. Shami took career-best One-Day International (ODI) figures of 5-51 to restrict Australia to 276 in 50 overs in Mohali on Friday, laying the platform for a five-wicket victory. "We've had good results in the previous few series and the rotation policy is working well. Shami took a much-needed break following the World Test Championship final in June but said he kept himself busy. "It was very important to take that break, because I had played back-to-back for seven-eight months without rest," Shami said.

Persons: India seamer Mohammed Shami, Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit, Shardul Thakur, We've, Shrivathsa Sridhar, Peter Rutherford Organizations: ICC, Australia, Thomson Locations: India, Australia, Mohali, Chennai, Bengaluru

☆ Opinion: It’s not just about its colonial past. Here’s what India’s possible name change is all about
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Opinion Akanksha Singh | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The idea, we Indians were told each time, was to allow the nation to make a clean break once and for all with its colonial past. The question on the minds of many people who follow events in India, is why any name change would be needed. It’s an opportunity to double down on India’s Hindu identity, even in the name by which it is called. The debate is a live one, however: Some disagree, saying that no amendment to the constitution would be needed to change India’s name. Do the country’s Indian Institutes of Technology become BITs?

Persons: Akanksha Singh, Singh, Droupadi Murmu, Bharat, Narendra Modi’s, Bharat ”, Modi, It’s, Akbar, Deen Dayal, Modi’s, Rahul Gandhi, Reserve Bank of India –, I’ve, ” Encouragingly Organizations: BBC, Independent, South China Morning Post, CNN, Mumbai CNN, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Bharat, Reserve Bank of India, Institutes of Technology, India, United Nations Locations: Mumbai, South China, India, Calcutta, Kolkata, Bombay, Madras, Chennai, Allahabad, Manipur

WhatsApp has more than 500 million users in India, though regulators there have capped its in-app WhatsApp Pay service to only 100 million people. People shopping on WhatsApp could also pay using popular services like Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google Pay, Paytm (PAYT.NS) and Walmart's (WMT.N) PhonePe but only after being redirected outside WhatsApp. Payments via those rival services - and any others that run on India's instant money transfer system UPI - will now be possible directly within WhatsApp, Meta said in a blog post. While WhatsApp Pay users will remain capped in India, there is no such limit on the number of users permitted to transact with businesses on WhatsApp using the other methods, a Meta spokesperson said. With some 300 million people spending about $180 billion via India's using UPI each month, the new transaction options could serve as a powerful lure to attract businesses to pay Meta for access to WhatsApp users.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, WhatsApp, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg's, Mukesh Ambani, Aditya Kalra, Katie Paul, Munsif Vengattil, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, Meta, Google, UPI, Facebook, Thomson Locations: India, WhatsApp, Chennai, Bangaluru, New Delhi, New York

☆ Ruthless India rout Sri Lanka to win Asia Cup as paceman Siraj shines
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Hardik Pandya bagged three wickets while Jasprit Bumrah claimed one as Sri Lanka registered their second lowest total in one-day internationals, lasting only 92 balls. India needed 6.1 overs to achieve the target for a timely boost before their home World Cup beginning next month. "It's like a dream," Siraj, who became only the fourth bowler to take four wickets in an over in ODIs, said after the Sri Lanka innings. "I got four early wickets last time I played Sri Lanka (earlier this year) but unfortunately I could not register a five-wicket haul. Bumrah removed Kusal Perera in the first over to trigger a collapse and the Sri Lanka batters looked helpless as Siraj breathed fire with the new ball.

Persons: Mohammed Siraj, Siraj, Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera, Charith, Dhananjaya de Silva, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Dushan Hemanta, Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Kishan, Gill, Chris Silverwood bemoaned, Amlan Chakraborty, Ken Ferris Organizations: Asia, Sri Lanka, Sri, Thomson Locations: COLOMBO, India, Sri Lanka, Australia, Chennai, New Delhi

☆ You're more productive in the office, say elite CEOs. Data seems to back them up.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Tom Carter | Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The idea of permanent remote work is slipping away. After almost three years of relaxed work-from-home policies, CEOs are starting to drag their remote employees back to the office most days of the week. The remote work genie is out of the bottleInfluential remote work researchers, including Stanford researcher Nicholas Bloom, have been backing a flexible, hybrid approach as the way forward. Bloom previously told Insider that well-organized hybrid work is a "win-win" for companies and workers. AdvertisementAdvertisementEveryone else Insider spoke to agreed, though some said even hybrid was likely less productive than being fully in the office.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Michael Gibbs, They've, Mark Zuckerberg, Andy Jassy, Gibbs, David Atkin, Raj Choudhury, Atkin, Ipsos, " Choudhury, Nicholas Bloom, Bloom, Choudhury, We'll, WFH, Jose Maria Barrero Organizations: Meta, Service, Companies, University of Chicago, Harvard Business School, National Bureau of Economic Research, MIT, Employees, The Washington Post, Stanford, WFH Locations: Wall, Silicon, Indian, Chennai

☆ Pathirana comes up trumps for Sri Lanka at Asia Cup
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 1 (Reuters) - Mahendra Singh Dhoni is known to have a keen eye for talent and the match-winning display by Sri Lanka pacer Matheesha Pathirana against Bangladesh at the Asia Cup on Thursday shows the former India captain's reputation is well earned. His Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain Dhoni predicted in May the 20-year-old would prove a "great asset" for Sri Lanka provided he was used sparingly and only in key white-ball tournaments. Vindicating his Chennai captain, Pathirana claimed a career-best 4-32 to rout Bangladesh and set up Sri Lanka's five-wicket victory with 11 overs to spare at Pallekele. "I think this performance has been coming for a while now," Sri Lanka coach Chris Silverwood told reporters. "Easy to see why Sri Lanka Cricket, CSK and MS Dhoni are valuing Matheesha Pathirana so highly," former West Indies bowler Ian Bishop wrote on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.

Persons: Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Pathirana, Lasith Malinga, Dhoni, Chris Silverwood, He's, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Ian Bishop, Amlan Chakraborty, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Sri Lanka, Asia, Chennai, IPL, World, Sri Lanka Cricket, Thomson Locations: Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Chennai, West Indies, New Delhi

Sky-high food inflation after erratic monsoon rains damaged crops and disrupted supply chains. Food inflation for July hit a staggering 11.5%, far more than 4.6% in June and marking a three-year high. Even when customers do purchase fashion items, they buy far fewer than they once would have, some of the managers also said. The downturn in fashion spending has also been accompanied by a slide in spending at restaurant chains like Domino's. In some encouraging signs, tomato prices have eased off peaks and India's central bank chief last week said vegetable prices, which have begun to soften, will decline from September.

Persons: Zink London, Skechers, Kaushik Das, Madan Sabnavis, Anjali Mohanty, Tanvi Mehta, Riddhima, Dhwani Pandya, Jatindra, Saurabh Sharma, Aditya Kalra, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: NEW, Euromonitor, Reuters, Skechers USA, Deutsche Bank, Retail, Bank of Baroda, Dhwani, Thomson Locations: NEW DELHI, MUMBAI, New Delhi, Zink London, Mumbai, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Lucknow

☆ Dubai's DP World to invest $510 million in India's Gujarat state
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] General view of a stock yard of DP World's fully automated Terminal 2 at Jebel Ali Port in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 27, 2018. REUTERS/ Hamad I Mohammed Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Aug 25 (Reuters) - Dubai-owned ports giant DP World [RIC:RIC:DPWRD.UL] will invest around $510 million to build a new container terminal at the Kandla port in the Indian state of Gujarat, its group chairman said on Friday. DP world, which operates in 73 countries, last week reported a nearly 10% fall in first-half profit to $651 million despite a 13.9% year-on-year rise in revenue to more than $9 billion. The new terminal will take the combined capacity to 8.19 million TEUs, a company statement said. DP World’s Indian port and terminal investments are aligned with the country's Vision 2047, which aims to quadruple port handling capacity and develop logistics infrastructure to boost economic growth, the statement said.

Persons: Hamad, Mohammed, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Manoj Kumar, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: United Arab Emirates, REUTERS, DELHI, Deendayal Port Authority, DP, Hindustan Infralog Private, National Investment, Infrastructure Fund, Thomson Locations: Jebel Ali Port, Dubai, United Arab, Indian, Gujarat, India, Deendayal, Hindustan, Mumbai, Mundra, Cochin, Chennai

CNN —Millions in India will be cheering on the teen chess prodigy known as Pragg as he takes on Norwegian grandmaster Magnus Carlsen for the title of World Chess Champion on Tuesday. Born and raised in Chennai in southern India, Praggnanandhaa took an interest in the game after his older sister, Vaishali, started playing at age 6. Then, in 2016, he created history after winning his ninth round game at the KIIT International Chess Festival in Bhubaneswar, India. Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images/FilePraggnanandhaa earned his third international master norm, an achievement handed out for high level of performance in a tournament. Having earned two previous norms already, at the age of 10 years, 10 months and 19 days, he became an international chess master – the youngest ever.

Persons: Magnus Carlsen, Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, Fabiano Caruana, Praggnanandhaa, Carlsen, Narendra Modi, Sachin Tendulkar, ” Praggnanandhaa, Vaishali, Andrzej Iwanczuk, “, Arun Sankar, ” Organizations: CNN, CNN Sport, Bloom, KIIT, Getty Locations: India, Baku, Azerbaijan, Chennai, Vaishali, Warsaw, Poland, Bhubaneswar, Indian, “

☆ Hyundai Motor's unit to buy General Motors' India plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsBENGALURU, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor Co's (005380.KS) Indian unit will buy automaker General Motors' (GM.N) Talegaon plant in the western state of Maharashtra, a move that will allow the U.S. automaker to exit the country as well increase Hyundai's annual production. Through its Sriperumbudur facility outside Chennai city and now the Talegaon plant, Hyundai aims to increase its cumulative production capacity to one million units per year, it said on Wednesday. The company had a production capacity of 820,000 units in the first half of this year. The South Korean firm said it intends to upgrade the existing infrastructure at the Talegaon unit and start manufacturing in 2025. The plant currently has an annual production capacity of 130,000 units.

Persons: Wolfgang Rattay, Ashish Chandra, Sonia Cheema Organizations: Hyundai, REUTERS, Rights, General Motors, U.S, GM, Kia, Thomson Locations: Munich, Germany, KS, Maharashtra, Chennai, India, Bengaluru

Burger King's new chicken sandwich "Ch'King" is seen on display in New York, NY, U.S. May 19, 2021. "Even tomatoes need a vacation ... we are unable to add tomatoes to our food," read notices pasted at two Burger King India outlets. The burger chain, one of India's biggest with nearly 400 outlets, joins many McDonald's and Subway stores that have removed tomatoes from menus as India's food inflation this week hit its highest since January 2020. reads a question on the support page of Burger King India's web site. Restaurant Brands Asia (RESR.NS), which operates Burger King in India, did not respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Burger, Aleksandra Michalska, Amnish Aggarwal, Narendra Modi's, Manoj Kumar, Aditya Kalra, Conor Humphries Organizations: REUTERS, Burger King, Restaurant Brands, Thomson Locations: New York, NY, U.S, DELHI, CHENNAI, Burger King India, Burger, India, India's, Nepal, New Delhi, Chennai

In fact, they were the real-life celebrations of thousands of cinema fans in South India as they welcomed the latest film release by one of the country’s biggest superstars. Fans dance during the screening of Indian actor Rajinikanth's new Tamil-language movie 'Jailer' on the first day of its release in Mumbai on August 10. Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty ImagesA cult-like followingRajinikanth, 72, who has starred in more than 160 movies, is near synonymous with South Indian cinema. Its release day became an unofficial public holiday for many with several companies in the cities of Bengaluru and Chennai giving their employees a day off to watch the film. One of the biggest South Indian hits last year, “RRR,” made history by scooping its first Oscar for the best original song, “Naatu Naatu.”Video Ad Feedback This Indian film is nominated for an Oscar.

Persons: ”, Rajinikanth, Rajinikanth's, Punit Paranjpe, Tom Cruise, Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, jubilation, John Lennon, Padma Bhushan, Vibhushan, India’s, Kollywood ”, “, Oscar, M.M, Keeravani Organizations: CNN, Redbooks, Le, Getty, Padma, Confederation of Indian Industry, Globe, Carpenters, The Carpenters Locations: South India, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, AFP, Bengaluru, Chennai

☆ People who choose to work from home are actually less-productive when they do so, new research suggests. An author behind the research explains why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

One of the study's authors told Insider those who prefer WFH are also the "most distracted" at home. It found that randomly selected data-entry workers in Chennai, India were 18% less-productive working from home than from the office. It found that those who prefer to work from home are — at baseline — actually 12% faster and more accurate in their work. Those who prefer to work from the office — even if they're initially slower or less-accurate — are just 13% less-productive when working from home. Atkin suggests that hybrid work arrangements could be an answer, even though they weren't explored in this particular study.

Persons: Maskot, they're, David Atkin, Atkin Organizations: Service, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, WFH Locations: Wall, Silicon, Chennai, India

☆ Return-to-office mandates just got another vote in their favor: A new study says WFH results in 18% less productivity.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A study from economists at MIT and UCLA found productivity dropped when people worked from home. The study observed groups of data-entry workers in India working from home and from the office. Some workers argue they're more productive working remotely. Those in the work-from-home group were 18% less productive than those working from the office. Why data-entry workers?

Persons: It's, David Atkin, Andy Jassy, Zuckerberg's Meta Organizations: MIT, UCLA, Service, National Bureau of Economic Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, Fortune, Microsoft, Amazon Locations: India, Wall, Silicon, Los Angeles, Chennai

☆ New research finds that fully remote workers are less productive than their in-office counterparts
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A new study looks at the productivity of remote workers versus those in-office. It showed that productivity dropped by 18% among a group of workers randomly assigned to WFH. More employers are pushing for workers to return to the office in a hybrid role or full-time. Get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in business, from Wall Street to Silicon Valley — delivered daily. Meanwhile, JPMorgan kickstarted a trend across Wall Street to instill a back-to-office mandate for its managing directors.

Persons: Michael Bloomberg Organizations: Service, National Bureau of Economic Research, Workers, McKinsey, Pew Research, NYC, Bloomberg, JPMorgan Locations: Wall, Silicon, Chennai

☆ Foxconn Industrial Internet denies signing deal with Tamil Nadu -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING/TAIPEI, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A subsidiary of tech giant Foxconn (2317.TW) said that it had not signed any agreement to invest 16 billion rupees ($194.6 million) in Tamil Nadu, China's Securities Times reported on Tuesday. The government of the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu said on Monday it has signed a deal with Foxconn for a new electronic components manufacturing facility that would create 6,000 jobs. The Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII) (601138.SS) facility will be built in the Kancheepuram district near the state capital of Chennai, a state government source told Reuters on condition of anonymity as details are not yet public. "We did not sign any investment agreement," FII was quoted as saying by the Securities Times newspaper, adding the company had issued a statement in July refuting similar "rumours." ($1 = 82.2290 Indian rupees)Reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Yimou Lee in Taipei; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: FII, Foxconn, Yimou Lee, Jacqueline Wong, Jamie Freed Organizations: China's Securities Times, Foxconn, Securities Times, Beijing Newsroom, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, TAIPEI, Tamil Nadu, Kancheepuram, Chennai, Taipei

[1/2] FILE PHOTO-The logo of Foxconn is pictured on top of a company's building in Taipei, Taiwan October 31, 2022. The facility will be separate from the current sprawling campus near Chennai where Foxconn assembles Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhones and employs more than 35,000 people, the source said. "This is a major achievement for the state," Tamil Nadu Minister for Industries TRB Rajaa said in a statement, after Foxconn Chairman Young Liu and other representatives met with the state officials including its chief minister. Reuters reported last week that the Foxconn subsidiary was in talks with Tamil Nadu about the investment, with the company aiming for the plant's completion in 2024. Foxconn plans to quadruple the workforce at its iPhone factory in Tamil Nadu by late 2024 in a bid to spread its bets beyond China, Reuters reported last year.

Persons: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Foxconn, Industries TRB Rajaa, Young Liu, Liu, Foxconn's, Munsif, Yi, Mou Lee, Aditya Kalra, Jamie Freed, Himani Organizations: REUTERS, Industrial, Tamil Nadu Minister, Industries, Foxconn, Sunday, Reuters, Tamil, Thomson Locations: Taipei, Taiwan, CHENNAI, Kancheepuram, Chennai, Tamil, India, Tamil Nadu, China, Bengaluru, Praveen

☆ Apple supplier Foxconn plans $500 mln component factories in India - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 31 (Reuters) - Apple's (AAPL.O) main supplier, Foxconn Technology Group (2317.TW), is planning to invest close to $500 million to build two component factories in India, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. These factories will be built in the southern state of Karnataka and at least one of them will produce Apple parts, including for iPhones, the report said. Foxconn and Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Karnataka has already approved investment to the tune of 80 billion rupees ($972.88 million) by a Foxconn unit in March, making it the third southern Indian state after Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to allow Foxconn plants. ($1 = 82.2300 Indian rupees)Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun KoyyurOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Urvi Dugar, Chavi Mehta, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Foxconn Technology, Bloomberg, iPhones, Apple, Tamil, Thomson Locations: India, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, China, Kancheepuram, Chennai, Bengaluru

[1/2] A motorist rides past a hoarding decorated with flowers to welcome G20 foreign ministers in New Delhi, India, March 1, 2023. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File photoCHENNAI, India/BRUSSELS, July 28 (Reuters) - The Group of 20 (G20) major nations failed on Friday to agree on concrete targets to cut dangerous emissions, releasing only a statement that dismissed current measures to address climate change as "insufficient". Members could not agree on depleting carbon budgets, historical emissions, net-zero goals and the issue of financing to support developing countries, the document showed. China and oil-rich Saudi Arabia backed away from making commitments in the G20 talks, members of a European delegation said. The EU's Environment Commissioner said the G20 countries were "nowhere" on their commitments to address climate change.

Persons: Amit Dave, Virginijus Sinkevicius, Sarita Chaganti Singh, Aftab Ahmed, Kate Abnett, John Stonestreet, Angus MacSwan, Andrew Heavens Organizations: REUTERS, United Arab Emirates, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, CHENNAI, BRUSSELS, North America, Europe, China, Indian, Chennai, Saudi Arabia, Delhi, Brussels

CHENNAI, India, July 26 (Reuters) - A Foxconn (2317.TW) subsidiary is in talks with India's Tamil Nadu state to invest up to $200 million to build a new plant for electronic components in the southern region, two sources with direct knowledge told Reuters on Wednesday. Foxconn, the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, and a spokesperson for Tamil Nadu's industries department declined to comment. Foxconn already has a sprawling campus near Chennai city in Tamil Nadu where it assembles Apple's (AAPL.O) iPhones. Foxconn is also in talks with western Gujarat state as it eyes entry into India's semiconductor sector. Last week, Karnataka state government in south India said it held talks with FII, which had committed to invest $1.07 billion for a new plant.

Persons: Brand Cheng, Foxconn, Young Liu, Praveen, Sarah Wu, Aditya Kalra, Richard Chang Organizations: Reuters, Foxconn Industrial, Tamil, FII, Thomson Locations: CHENNAI, India, Tamil, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Bengaluru, Taipei

☆ Tomato price shock hits Indian restaurants, cheaper puree sales boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Riddhima Talwani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Milk and vegetable retailer Mother Dairy has seen a 300% jump in tomato puree sales in the last 15 days in New Delhi, a spokesperson said. Amazon said demand for tomato puree on its platform rose five times over the past month, while ketchup sales rose 30%. Packs of puree typically contain around 40% tomato paste and the rest water, and cost 130 rupees/kg. Google Trends data shows the number of online searches for terms "tomato puree" and "tomato puree 1kg price" in recent weeks in India have been highest in the last five years. Food sellers - big and small - are battling high tomato prices.

Persons: Dairy, BigBasket, Seshu Kumar, Pravieen Sridhar, Price, gesturing, Pradeep Shetty, Raj Kumar, Riddhima Talwani, Aditya Kalra, Kim Coghill Organizations: Google, Restaurant Association of Western, Thomson Locations: DELHI, New Delhi, Indian, Chennai, India, Birju, Restaurant Association of Western India, Delhi

A Subway outlet at a Delhi airport terminal announced the "Temporary Unavailability of TOMATOES" in a sign saying the restaurant could not get enough supply that passed its quality checks. Two weeks ago McDonald's restaurants in India dropped tomatoes from their burgers and wraps in many parts of India due to quality issues. In the capital New Delhi, tomatoes was retailing for about 168 rupees ($2.05) a kg (93 cents a pound) on Saturday, after touching around 240 rupees. The government blames the higher prices of tomatoes on a lean production season as monsoon rains disrupt transport and distribution. The government in recent weeks has organised mobile vans to supply tomatoes at cheaper rates, with hundreds queuing each day.

Persons: Krishn Kaushik, Riddhima Talwani, Aditya Kalra, Sriram Mani, Dhwani Pandya, Praveen Paramasivam, Euan Rocha, William Mallard Organizations: Subway, Brands, KFC, Thomson Locations: DELHI, Subway India, Delhi, New Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Chennai, India

[1/5] A Domino's staff member stands next to a sign for a 49-rupee pizza at a restaurant in Noida, India, July 4, 2023. A: With the world's cheapest Domino's pizza. "You are coming to the store or open the app, because there is a 49-rupee callout," he said, adding that Domino's global team supported the plans. Domino's global HQ referred queries about India to its local franchisee. When Khetarpal visited Domino's stores in Chennai and other cities, he said he saw customers emptying out their pockets and only being able to scrape together 49 rupees.

Persons: Adnan Abidi, Sameer Khetarpal, Khetarpal, Merrill Pereyra, They'll, Akshay Jatia, Westlife, It's, Devanshu Bansal, Kiran Raj, Praveen Paramasivam, Aditya Kalra, Saurabh Sharma, Jatindra, Brenda Goh, Hilary Russ, Abhirup Roy, Miyoung Kim, Pravin Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, India, Sapphire Foods, Domino's, Burger King's, Restaurant Brands, Euromonitor, Yum Brands, Global Financial Services, Pravin Char, Thomson Locations: Noida, India, CHENNAI, DELHI, America, Shanghai, San Francisco, Burger, zeroing, Pizza, New Delhi, Chennai, Burger King's India, United States, U.S, Lucknow, Bhubaneswar, New York, Singapore

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