Price of ‘densified shuttering ply’ goes up by Rs 3 per sq m in Yamunanagar

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Yamunanagar, July 7

Reeling under a financial crisis, manufacturers of the ‘densified shuttering ply’ have increased its price by Rs 3 per square ft.

350 factories in district

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Yamunanagar district has 350 plywood factories, 700 peeling factories, band mills and chipper factories. Out of these, nearly 75 plywood factories are manufacturing ‘densified shuttering ply’ besides producing other plywood products

Poplar costs Rs 1,700/ quintal

• The rates of the poplar and eucalyptus wood have increased due to its short supply
• The rate of poplar wood is Rs 1,700 per quintal, its rate was Rs 1,400 per quintal in September 2023
• Farmers are upbeat due to the increased rate of poplar wood

Industry under financial crisis

The plywood industry is reeling under an acute financial crisis. The industry is not getting adequate quantities of poplar and eucalyptus wood. This has led to an increase in the cost of production, which has forced us to increase the rate of densified shuttering ply. — Devender Chawla, president of AIPMA

The All India Plywood Manufacturers’ Association (AIPMA) has taken the decision following an acute shortage of wood, tremendous increase in prices of raw material, chemicals, fuel, other expenses and to cover the increase in the cost of production.

“A meeting of the association was held under the chairmanship of association president Devender Chawla. At the meeting, it was unanimously decided that they would increase the selling price by Rs 3 per square ft for all variants,” said Anil Garg, an executive member of AIPMA.

According to information, the plywood factories of Yamunanagar district were getting a supply of about 2 lakh quintal poplar wood (including some quantity of eucalyptus wood) every day before the lockdown was imposed in the country due to the Covid pandemic in March 2020.

However, at present, the plywood industry of Yamunanagar district was getting about one lakh quintal poplar wood every day for some years due to several reasons, including a sharp fall in the plantation of poplar saplings in the past.

As per available information, the farmers of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were the major suppliers of poplar wood to the plywood industry in Yamunanagar district.

But after a number of plywood factories were set up in these states in the past some years, the supply of poplar wood had seen a sharp decline in Yamunanagar district. The rates of the poplar and eucalyptus wood have increased due to its short supply. At present, the rate of poplar wood is Rs 1,700 per quintal, however, its rate was Rs 1,400 per quintal in September 2023.

“The plywood industry in the district is reeling under an acute financial crisis. The industry is not getting adequate quantities of poplar and eucalyptus wood. This has led to an increase in the cost of production, which has forced us to increase the rate of densified shuttering ply,” said Devender Chawla, president of AIPMA.

Yamunanagar district has 350 plywood factories, 700 peeling factories, band mills and chipper factories. Out of these, nearly 75 plywood factories are manufacturing ‘densified shuttering ply’ besides, producing other plywood products.

Farmers are upbeat due to the increased rate of poplar wood. “The farmers are trying to plant more poplar trees. But, the plywood industry should not decrease the rate of poplar wood keeping in mind the interests of poplar growers,” said Nilesh, a farmer that grows poplar trees.