New Delhi | Mumbai: Sales of daily groceries, home and personal products grew 3-5% by volume in the December quarter from a year earlier as a resurgent rural market outweighed stress in urban areas. Companies' profitability remained flat due to continued inflation in core commodities such as edible oil, wheat flour, cocoa and sugar, industry executives said, citing data by researcher NielsenIQ and retail intelligence platform Bizom."Compared to the second quarter, edible oil prices in Q3 (December '24) were about 25% higher. This significant price surge has resulted in consumers downgrading their purchases and a reduction in stock at the trade level," Adani Wilmar, maker of Fortune staples, said in its earnings on Saturday. "Moreover, palm oil prices, which are typically lower than other edible oils, surpassed the prices of other oils, causing consumers to switch to other affordable edible oils while sticking with value-for-money brands." The company noted demand for edible oil in the December quarter was impacted by a sharp rise in underlying commodity prices after duty hike in mid-September.Most companies indicated sequential improvement in demand with mid-single digit revenue growth after price hikes, but noted rising pressure on margins due to higher raw material prices.116971991Ranjeet Kohli, chief executive of biscuit and dairy product maker Britannia said urban stress is expected "to persist for another two-three quarters".Urban demand is challenging due to inflationary pressures, low wage growth and higher housing rentals, Nuvama Equities wrote in a report late last week, noting that the urban slowdown will continue for two to three more quarters.Dabur, which clocks about 48% of its sales from the hinterland, said in a pre-earnings Q3 update on Friday that operating profit remained flat due to inflationary pressures, while rural growth is continuing to outpace cities.Godrej Consumer noted weak demand for past few months, adding that a 20-30% hike in palm oil and derivatives prices has impacted its soap business.