Regulate steel prices: Manufacturers

CHANDIGARH:Having witnessed almost flat growth in the first nine months of the current fiscal due to market disruptions and introduction of GST, the bicycle industry expects some bold initiatives by the Finance Minister to boost the demand in domestic market and enhance exports.

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 25

Having witnessed almost flat growth in the first nine months of the current fiscal due to market disruptions and introduction of GST, the bicycle industry expects some bold initiatives by the Finance Minister to boost the demand in domestic market and enhance exports.

Currently, India produces 18 million bicycles per annum. Punjab accounts for 92% of the country’s bicycle parts production and 75% of bicycle production. The total turnover of the bicycle industry in Punjab is around Rs 5,000 crore with companies like Hero, Avon, TI and Neelam Cycles operating from the state. The industry has following expectations:

Increase duty drawback

“In order to boost the exports, the government should increase duty drawback rates. This will give a fillip to the bicycle exports from the country,” said Rishi Pahwa, joint MD, Avon Cycles, Ludhiana. Duty drawback compensates the exporters for the duties paid on inputs used to manufacture goods for export.

Price of raw material

Steel constitutes almost 85% of the raw material in bicycle manufacturing and in the past two-and-a-half months steel prices have risen by almost Rs 10,000 per tonne. “The government’s decision to impose minimum import price on steel from China is hurting as the domestic steel producers are continuously increasing the prices and it is making us non-competitive in the domestic as well as export market. The Steel Regulatory Commission should be set up to regulate the prices,” said Charanjit Singh Vishwakarma, former president, United Cycle and Parts Manufacturers Association (UCPMA).

Protection from import

The duty-free import of cycle parts from Sri Lanka is hurting the domestic industry now. Earlier, the import of bicycle parts from China was hitting the industry. “The parts manufactured in India should not be allowed to import,” said a member of the UCPMA. According to the policy, members of the ASEAN and SAFTA), which includes developing and under-developed countries, can export their goods in India at zero per cent duty.

Road infrastructure

The industry has also demanded that the Ministry of Road and Urban Development should focus on infrastructure so that more people can opt for cycling.