Bizmen rue rising prices of chemicals

Jalandhar, August 27

Rubber manufacturers have been irked over skyrocketing prices of chemicals and raw materials used in the manufacturing of rubber products. They said in the last 15-20 days, prices have increased up to 30-35 per cent.

Neeraj Arora, a manufacturer said: “With increase in prices, the industry will get destroyed and there will be no coming back.” The manufacturers also released a list showing increased prices. The manufacturers said all this was happening because of shortage of material in the market. The manufacturers have also sent the memorandum to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The rubber industrialists had earlier also raised several issues with the government. “The industry is already going through several problems and this new issue has only proved double whammy for the manufacturers,” they said.

Punjab’s rubber industry is concentrated in Jalandhar, which has over 300 units of rubber footwear industry. These have now been reduced to around 100 as per members of the Rubber Footwear Manufacturer Association.

While earlier highlighting issues of the industry, the industrialists had said non-refund of VAT and GST on rubber have jeopardised the future of industrialists as they were facing a huge shortage of working capital.

The members had been writing to every minister and officials of the Industry Department at local, state and Central-level, but to no avail. — TNS