Industry suffered Rs 5,000 crore loss due to farm protest

Vijay C Roy

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CHANDIGARH, MAY 21

The disruption in road and train traffic by farmers has not only hit the trade, but also created negative environment regarding investment in the state.

Sectors hit the most

Food processing | Textiles | Garments | Auto parts | Farm machinery | Engineering goods | Bicycle industry

According to an estimate, the industry has suffered a loss of over Rs 5,000 crore.

On account of the farm stir, the industry bore the brunt of high logistics cost, delay in transportation due to diversion of rail and road traffic and decline in orders as customers were reluctant to travel to the state to book fresh consignments during the period.

“According to rough estimates, the industry suffered a loss to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore. For raw materials, Punjab is dependent on other states. Over 80 per cent of the goods produced here are either exported or sold in the domestic market. Also, amid the agitation, transporters increased the price, which led to increase in freight cost,” said Badish Jindal, national president, All-Industries and Trade Forum.

As the industry faced raw material shortage, it also led to loss of mandays. The disruption in rail traffic for one month led to container shortage meant for exports.

“Also, we witnessed that during the agitation period, many customers were not coming to Punjab as trains were running late due to diversion. This also led to loss to the industry,” said RS Sachdeva, Chairman, Punjab, PHDCCI.