Traders claim 60% fall in sale of Chinese goods

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 31

Social media campaign to boycott Chinese products on this Diwali culminated into a steep decline in sale of Chinese goods. According to information gathered by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) from 20 cities across the country, there has been a 60% decline in sale of Chinese goods.

These 20 cities include Delhi, Mumbai, Nagpur, Jaipur, Ahmadabad, Kanpur, Bhopal etc which are generally considered as distribution cities.

According to an estimate, the value of Chinese goods sold in India during Diwali is around Rs 5,000 crore. Out of the total, over Rs 3,000 crore is Diwali-related gifting items such as toys, fancy lights, gift items, plastic ware, decorative goods etc. In the fireworks segment Chinese share is Rs 1,300 crore while the Indian manufacturers share has been reduced to Rs 500 crore over the years.

The influx of Chinese goods started 4-5 years ago and it has been increasing because of being economical and offering a lot of variety than Indian manufacturers.

CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said the social media campaign which reached even in the houses beside markets further intensified with a statement of Chinese media “India can only bark” and the people decided to opt for Indian products which includes decorative made from clay, plastic and paper, toffee & chocolate, dry fruits, sweets, FMCG products, Indian electronic items, kitchen equipment, utensils, gift articles, furnishing fabric, ready-made garments, bed sheets etc. 

“Crackers made at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu were more preferred in comparison to Chinese crackers,” he added.

He said, “The Government has to make latest technology available to small sectors and incur substantial expenditure on research & development. If all these steps are taken simultaneously, our trade can do wonders since we have everything at our end to give competition in global market.”