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The report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Polish personal accident and health insurance segment, including:

In Brazil, biscuits keeps undergoing a consolidation process. Biscuits is mature and boasts a relatively high per capita consumption of 6.1kg per year. This makes the country the 18thhighest worldwide consumer of such products, only behind countries which have a strong culture of consuming biscuits together with main meals and breakfast such as Argentina (13kg per person per year).. There is a tendency towards polarisation, with manufacturers favouring premium products, in an attempt to add...

Strict restrictions to import products were the main driving factor for the performance of leisure and personal goods specialist retailers in 2014. All industries faced strong limits to maintain their regular supply but those considered non-basic by government standards were affected the most. Many brands in the channel showed just a few items on shelves with no variety and not much stock. Under this context, they were not able to provide consumers with their minimum requirements. Of course, the scarcity caused nervous purchases that drove demand up but some stores simply could not offer enough products to maintain consumer interest.

Demand for all-in-one automatic washer dryers continues to increase substantially in Colombia, largely the expense of automatic washing machines and automatic tumble dryers. Declining unit prices mean that the gap between the prices charged for washer dryers and the prices charged for tumble dryers is closing, encouraging consumers to opt for smaller and more convenient home laundry appliances which can help them to save space amount. All-in-one automatic washer dryers occupy less space than keeping a separate automatic washing machine and automatic tumble dryer and the most recent energy saving models have largely overcome the previous complaints about the excessive energy consumption of automatic washer dryers. When automatic washer dryers were first launched in Colombia, demand was constrained by the relatively high prices charged for these appliances and the general opinion that they consumed relatively high levels of energy. Nowadays, however, the leading manufacturers in home laundry appliances in Colombia offer energy-saving and water-saving models in automatic washer dryers. The range of automatic tumble dryers on offer in Colombia comprises mainly gas fuelled appliances for consumers who already have the necessary gas connection or are willing to invest substantial amounts in the installation of a suitable gas connection.

As consumers are more interested in following a balanced and healthy diet, one of the main product types they have been prone to switch is breakfast cereals. This is why demand for healthier and more natural cereals has increased, because these products represent a healthy breakfast and can be considered sufficiently complete to be consumed as a whole meal. However, this trend is mainly seen among upper-middle and upper-income adults, as these products tend to be expensive and children still prefer very sweet products.

Volume growth within baked goods in 2014 was slightly better compared to average volume growth during the review period (CAGR -1%) but weaker than average in current value terms (CAGR 2%). Price volatility during the review period regarding raw materials used for baked goods manufacturing was the main driver of current value growth. Declining volume consumption of bread is the main reason behind the volume contraction in baked goods for the fourth year in a row during 2014. Two smaller baked goods areas recorded positive volume growth in 2014 and during the review period. Bread is a category far more vulnerable to growing poverty rates in the country, relative to pastries and cakes which typically target consumers not battling poverty - data shows that consumption of bread is falling, mainly due to declining demand amongst the poorest consumer segments.

Chilean real GDP growth hit bottom in 2014, and will accelerate modestly in 2015. An improving net exports position, combined with the government's fiscal stimulus and tailwinds from lower oil prices will support stronger economic activity, although headline growth will remain below the historical trend.

Economic growth will be constrained by the introduction of austerity measures by the incumbent government. Significant fiscal cutbacks will dampen disposable income and consumer spending during 2015-2016.

2014 saw good current value growth in line with the review period CAGR. Growth was driven by an increasingly aspirational consumer base, particularly among the rising number of working women. There continued to be a number of constraints to growth, however. These included a slowdown in the economy towards the end of the review period and rising debt levels for mid-income consumers. In addition, there were many holiday days for matches involving the Brazilian football team in the 2014 FIFA World...

Despite of the economic slowdown perceived in 2014, ready meals posted a strong value growth, of 16% in current value terms, reaching R$3.4 billion. In total volume terms, ready meals also recorded a good growth rate, of 9%, reaching 161 thousand tonnes in 2014. Growth in retail volume sales of ready meals in 2014 was up substantially on 2013, and also stronger than the CAGR for the entire review period. This improvement was underpinned by the trend towards busier lifestyles in Brazil, which...

Major companies operating in irons such as Oster de Colombia SA, Rayovac Varta SA and Groupe SEB Colombia SA are consistently working to increase awareness among consumers of the disadvantages of using the very cheap low-end irons which are flooding into Colombia from the Far East.

The biggest hindrance to growth in refrigeration appliances in 2014 was a general decline in households purchasing power, resulting from earlier tax increases and rising unemployment. Frequent price-related incentives offered by various players did not manage to counter the volume decline; a paradox which can be explained by highly thrifty households which preferred to wait for further price declines before buying, as the price index in France remains on a strong deflationary trend. The high penetration rate of fridge-freezers and a growing resort to repair-rather-than-replace also negatively impacted demand. Besides, the generally low level of innovation in the category also failed to attract interest from consumers.

The Indonesian market saw a major development in December 2014, with the deployment and launch of 4G LTE networks by the three largest mobile operators, Tel komsel, Indosat and XL Axiata. Although the outlook for the technology will be limited by the low spending power of most Indonesians and the high price of LTE tariffs and smartphones, it represents a step forward in the development of the market. 3G will be the favoured form of mobile broadband throughout our forecast period, but will continue to make up a minority of mobile subscriptions while the number of competitors remains too high, leading to a significant prominence of low-value prepaid subscribers. Moves towards tower sharing will help reduce the burden of this hyper-competitive environment, and could potentially pave the way for further consolidation. The wireline market is witnessing considerable investments in fibre - optic network infrastructure, a development that should drive the uptake of high-value converged services, including IPTV. The government is looking to encourage the expansion of fixed broadband infrastructure with incentives, however, mobile broadband will continue to remain the dominant service for internet access.

Nigeria's pharmaceutical and healthcare markets are vastly underdeveloped by Western standards as poor infrastructure, a weak regulatory system and lack of specialised facilities weaken growth potential. However, the Nigerian government's continuing efforts to expand healthcare access through national health insurance by introducing mobile registration and a community-based healthcare programme will provide revenue-earning opportunities for drug-makers. We believe developments along with new efforts to reduce the volume of counterfeit medicines in circulation will help boost pharmaceutical expenditure in the country.

Non-Life Insurance in Colombia by Mintel Market Sizes provides you with annual year-end market size data, most recently updated in 2014. This market covers motor, home, well being and other non-life insurance. Market size comprises annual gross premiums paid by consumers and commercial enterprises. Market size for Non-Life Insurance in Colombia is given in COP with a minimum of five years' historical data. Market Forecast is provided for five years. Included with this snapshot is socio-economic data for Colombia. Population, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Exchange Rates.

During 2013, a further decline in volume sales of locally produced cigarette brands in Georgia and the seizure of volume share by imported brands took place. Due to tax and price increases (September 2013), local cigarette brands have started to compete with imported brands. The prices charged for local cigarette brands have become only slightly lower than international brands and Georgian consumers tend to prefer imported cigarettes to local alternatives due to the higher quality of imported...

Thai consumers do not prioritise gardening. People who live in suburban and rural areas usually have more living space and are closer to the natural environment than their counterparts in city centres. Urban dwellers are less likely to be close to nature as their home and work lives mean they are surrounded by buildings. Trees and green spaces are fading away from urban zones; therefore, consumers in these areas, including condominium dwellers, are turning to gardening in small spaces. The target audience for gardening is wide, ranging from low-income consumers who spend their free time working on their garden space to middle- and high-income consumers who can afford would pay landscapers and gardeners to tend to their green spaces.

Many Egyptian households have given up on the privilege of having several food preparation appliances due to the very ongoing political struggle in Egypt, which has led to a very tough economic environment and declining disposable incomes.

Wearable electronics sales are negligible in 2014. Although Samsung is launching passive wearable electronics, demand remained low as most consumers focused on getting smartphones as the priority product.

Home video has experienced a volume sales crisis in the Portuguese territory. After the digital switchover which boosted sales of televisions over the 2011-2012 period, the category decayed exponentially over 2013, and in 2014, the dropping tendency subsisted. According to specialists, the approximately 67 month-estimated replacement cycle of these products is responsible for this negative tendency. With televisions being the category with the largest penetration and influence within overall...

2014 was another successful year for freestanding automatic washing machines in Egypt. This was due to two main reasons; the first is that much of the innovation in home laundry appliances is focused on automatic washing machines, while the second is that the leading retailers of automatic washing machines, especially the major chained retailers, generally offering their customers the option to pay for these products in instalments and these agreements are sometimes interest free. Consumers benefit directly from this offer of consumer finance, though it is clear that innovation plays a very important role in terms of generating sales in the automatic washing machines.

Soup in Greece lagged in terms of development and innovation. No new launches took place in 2014, and investment in marketing activities to stimulate consumer interest was also absent, and this resulted in negative growth for another consecutive year. The advantage of a low calorie, convenient and cheap meal solution offered by packaged soup seems not to have been exploited by manufacturers, with their lack of interest in soup hindering growth.

Overall, we hold an optimistic outlook on Indonesia's agriculture sector and see significant growth opportunities in sub-sectors such as livestock, palm oil and cocoa. While we believe the government's goal to reach self-sufficiency in rice by 2015 is attainable, we are less confident about other commodities such as sugar and corn. We also highlight that the country's aim to become the second largest coffee producer in the world by 2015 is unrealistic. Much of our scepticism relates to the lack of proper infrastructure and the existence of a large number of low-technology, small-scale farmers. We believe the shift from raw commodity exports to refined exports (especially for palm oil and cocoa) will warrant more public and private investment in order for the raw inputs industry to keep pace with downstream industries. Investments by Wilmar, Golden Agri Resources and Barry Callebaut are clear signs of the growing interest in these sectors.

Core Views - The UK economy outperformed most major developed states in 2014, and will continue to expand at a robust clip in 2015...

Fragrances in Indonesia by Mintel Market Sizes provides you with annual year-end market size data, most recently updated in 2014. This market covers men's and women's fragrances. It excludes body sprays. Market size is based on all retail sales including direct to consumer. Market size for Fragrances in Indonesia is given in IDR with a minimum of five years' historical data. Market Forecast is provided for five years. Included with this snapshot is socio-economic data for Indonesia. Population, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Exchange Rates.