Share price swings underscore industry difficulties

摘要

The tumult gripping the packaged foods industry in 2018 comes from numerous directions. Compounding challenges facing the industry for several years, such as sluggish growth and shifting consumer preferences, food companies have had to contend with rising energy costs together with mounting transportation and labor difficulties. Problems facing the food sector was starkly manifested in its share price performance. For many years, the position of consumer packaged foods companies in the investment community as a bastion of stability and dependability has been eroding. Even as food share prices outperformed the overall market for many consecutive years, the lack of sales gains and uncertainty about how to reignite growth at many of the largest food and beverage companies sowed doubts over whether the sector could comfortably be relied upon for steady if uninspiring investment performance in the future.