Traders register 20% decline in firecrackers’ demand

The Dollar Business Bureau

Banning imports and sale of China-made firecrackers have had little or no effect on India-manufactured crackers as Indian traders across major cities report poor business due to anti-cracker campaigns run by schools, resident welfare associations (RWAs) and others, an ASSOCHAM survey-cum-analysis said.

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) interacted with firecracker wholesalers, retailers and traders in ten different cities to gauge the demand for firecrackers and the impact of ban on Chinese crackers across India.

“It is not just Chinese firecrackers but multiple factors like growing environmental awareness, rising cost of living, growing tendency amid people to save their hard-earned money rather than spoiling it on burning crackers, paucity of time, traffic congestions during festive period and others have together dented this business over the years,” said the traders in these cities. 

Most of the traders registered a sharp decline of about 20% year-on-year from past five years.

“Banning Chinese firecrackers was a welcome move which was aimed at strengthening the domestic industry, however growing criticism of bursting firecrackers and all the negative publicity together with rising air and noise pollution have eventually faded the growth of firecracker industry across India,” said ASSOCHAM Secretary General D S Rawat.

“About hundreds of units in Sivakasi have shut their shop owing to intense campaigns and growing sales of China-made crackers over the years, it is estimated that about 30,000 people have lost their livelihood,” Rawat said.

Sivakasi industry currently houses about 800 licensed firecracker-making units, where this industry accounts for a market size of about Rs2,500 crore, this industry has been hit due to firecrackers and other Diwali materials imported from China.

The survey said several other factors such as a rise in raw material cost, overall inflation have also discouraged people from buying firecrackers.