South Asian Frontiers: Cautious Consumer Outlook For 2011

The consumer outlooks for the South Asian frontier economies of Pakistan and Sri Lanka are mixed. On the one hand, the consumer-facing sectors in these economies will continue to grapple with building food inflationary pressures. On the other hand, increasing remittance inflows augur well for higher consumer spending in Pakistan and Sri Lanka for 2011. Meanwhile, consumer spending in Bangladesh is likely to go under the cosh this year as the Bangladeshi consumer struggles with food inflation and stagnating remittances growth.

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