Diwali festival: Boycott call of Chinese goods on social media impacts their sale

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, October 26

The boycott call of Chinese goods on social media has considerably impacted their sale in the Diwali festival season.

Chinese goods are available at 40 to 60 per cent less than the prices of Indian-manufactured products. Even then a dip in the sale of Chinese products has been recorded, said Harpreet Singh, a wholesale dealer of electric goods at the IDH market in Amritsar.

There is about a 40 per cent decline in the sale of Chinese goods this Diwali season in comparison to last year, he said.

He said China has a monopoly on decorative electric lights, as they provide these at a minimum of Rs 20 to a maximum of Rs 1,000 per piece. One can possess a 17-foot lead with bulbs at Rs 20. Unable to compete in this price bracket, Indians have almost left the market to the Chinese.

He added that this was the item that offered the people no alternative. Otherwise, people have become selective while buying Chinese products.

Another decorative lights retailer said certainly there was a considerable dip in the sale of Chinese products this year. He added that people from the low-income groups were lured to buy Chinese CFLs, as their cost is extremely less than the Indian and other foreign products available in the market. For instance, they are flooding the market with a 15 watt CFL at Rs 30 while similar-watt tubes are available in other brands at Rs 90.

“Such a big price gap is supporting the Chinese products. Otherwise, the dip would be much more”, he remarked.