Haryana: Plywood prices go up by 5% after increase in cost of wood

Tribune News Service

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Yamunanagar, May 5

Haryana Plywood Manufactures’ Association has hiked prices of all types of plywood, block boards and flush doors by 5% over exorbitant increase in cost of wood and wages.

As per available information, rates of poplar wood are around Rs 1,700 per quintal this time, while it was nearly Rs 1,400 per quintal in September 2023. The rates of the poplar wood have increased due to short supply, industry insiders said.

Yamunanagar industry hit by financial crisis

The plywood industry of Yamunanagar has been reeling under a financial crisis after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The former Chief Minister had reduced the market fee from 2% to 1%. However, now this 1% market fee should also be abolished to save the industry. —JK Bihani, president, Haryana plywood manufactures’ association

Plywood factories in Yamunanagar district had been getting a supply of about 2 lakh quintal poplar wood every day before the Covid-19 lockdown.

Sources said the plywood industry in the district has been getting about one lakh quintal poplar wood every day for some years due to sharp fall in plantation of poplar saplings. The industry in the district mostly uses poplar and eucalyptus wood to produce plywood.

On the demand of the association, former CM Manohar Lal Khattar reduced market fee on wood used by the plywood industry from 2% to 1% last year.

“The plywood industry of Yamunanagar has been reeling under a financial crisis after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The former CM had reduced the market fee from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. However, now this 1 per cent market fee should also be abolished to save the industry,” said JK Bihani, president of the association.

He said an association delegation called on Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini recently, demanding scraping of the market fee. Bihani further said they also demanded that no FIR should be registered against the owners of plywood factories, if the samples of technical grade urea taken from plywood factories, failed.

“Plywood factory owners buy technical grade urea from dealers and payment is made to the dealers as per the market rate of the technical grade urea. If the samples of technical grade urea, taken by the Agriculture Department from factories, fail and content of agriculture grade urea are found in them, the action should be taken against the dealers, not against the owners of the plywood factories,” said Bihani. Yamunanagar district has about 350 plywood factories and 700 peeling factories, band mills and chipper factories.

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