Indians continue to enjoy fried food, even as consumers all over the world are going for healthy products, a survey by a leading marketing information provider has said.

A fifth of the $5,640 million food and beverages market in India is dominated by edible cooking oils as people have a huge appetite for fried food, an ACNielsen survey, What's Hot Around the Globe, said.

The survey, which studied 100 food categories in 66 markets the world over, found that namkeens, noodles and biscuits registered the highest growth in the country.

"Although we are on the forefront of most advanced industries we continue to be quite traditional in our eating habits," ACNielsen's Senior Manager in India Bijal Jadav said.

He said the challenge for FMCG marketers is to either revolutionise tradition or offer products that appeal to the Indian taste buds.

It showed that drinkable yogurt registered an impressive year-on-year growth of more than 10 per cent in 40 of the 45 countries studied, with China topping the list at 49 per cent growth.

Global sales of drinkable yogurt grew 18 per cent between mid-2005 to mid-2006, it said.

Four of the nine F&B categories listed in the survey were in the fresh arena and recorded total sales of over one billion dollars. Fresh fish and seafood clocked 12 per cent growth in all the markets surveyed by the agency.

Other dairy based drinks like fruit-flavoured milk and kefir-based drinks grew by 10 per cent in 32 markets around the globe.

"Around the world, consumers are balancing health and nutrition concerns with a desire for convenience and value," ACNielsen Managing Director Jane Perrin said.

In comparison, the survey showed, frozen and shelf-stable products recorded a slower growth while soup showed a decline.