Imports from Cambodia give tough time to bicycle industry

Manav Mander

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 15

Bicycles and bicycle parts imported from Cambodia are giving tough time to the local industry. The imports are routed by Chinese firms to escape the import duty. Earlier, Chinese firms were exporting goods from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

China-based companies have opened offices in Cambodia and obtain certificate of origin and export goods to India. By routing items from the route they avail exemption from import duty levied at the rate of 30 per cent on complete cycle and 20 per cent on cycle parts.

According to the policy, members of Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), which includes developing and under-developed countries, can dump their goods in India at 0 per cent duty.

Badish Jindal, president, Federation of Punjab Small Industries Associations, said; “Now Chinese products are coming through different routes. Just to escape the import duty, Chinese goods are coming through different routes and now the latest to add in the league after Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bangladesh is Cambodia. The policies which were formed for the development of developing and under-developed countries were being exploited and it should be checked by the government.”

India’s increasing trade imbalance with China is putting a question mark on the import-export policy of the country. Despite international slow down, imports from China are increasing by 9 per cent whereas the exports from India to China are decreasing by 25 per cent.

During 2014-15, India imported electrical and electronics equipments from China to the tune of Rs 1.02 lakh crores which may further increase to Rs 1.30 lakh crores in the current fiscal. In the same time, import of machineries and mechanical equipments may increase from Rs 62,000 crores during 2014-15 to Rs 70,000 crores in 2015-16. The organic chemicals and fertilisers import may increase from Rs 58,000 crore to Rs 73,000 crore. Similarly, import of plastic products may also increase from Rs 10,000 crores to Rs 11,000 crores.

“Such a huge imbalance may devastate the economy of India. Products worth seven lakh crore rupees are coming from China through under valuation. Government needs to check this influx as it is affecting the local industry very hard,” added Gurmail Singh, a cycle parts manufacturer.