Sale of Chinese goods may decline by 40-45% this Diwali: Survey

MANGALURU: Be it decorative items like lights, gift items, lamps and wall hangings or other products, the sale of Chinese goods may decline by 40-45 per cent this Diwali as compared to last year, according to a survey by Assocham-Social Development Foundation (ASDF).

The Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India survey said, there seems to be a decline of about 40-45 per cent in consumption of Chinese products on this Diwali in comparison to last year. Chinese products had recorded a 30 per cent decline in sales last year on Diwali. Some of the Chinese items that are most bought on Diwali are: fancy lights, lampshades, Ganesha and Laxmi idols, rangolis and crackers etc. As per the findings, this Diwali, people are preferring Indian products over Chinese goods.+

There has been a 40-45 per cent impact on goods like decorative lights, which record huge sales during Diwali, whereas a slight impact has also been seen on China-made electronic goods like mobile phones, etc. As per the paper, the demand of electronic items like LCDs, mobile phones and others items 'made in China' has also declined by 15-20 per cent, said D S Rawat, the Secretary General of ASSOCHAM, while releasing the ASSOCHAM paper.

According to shopkeepers, most of the customers are demanding Indian lights. People are not interested in purchasing Chinese products while showing interest in local products, including earthen diyas.

There was a huge demand for 'made in China' fancy lights+ in the market but it is also decreasing. Also, the quality of Chinese products is also questionable with no shopkeeper giving any sort of guarantee on Chinese items once sold. Fire crackers made at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu are preferred in comparison to Chinese crackers+ , adds the paper.

ASSOCHAM interacted with wholesalers, retailers, traders in cities of Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Dehradun, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Mumbai to estimate the demand for Chinese products across India.

According to an estimate, the value of Chinese goods sold in 2016 during Diwali was around Rs 6,500 crore. Out of the total, over Rs 4,000 crore was Diwali-related items such as toys, fancy lights, gift items, plastic ware, decorative goods etc.

India is a big market for Chinese products and over the years import of toys, furniture, building hardware, crackers, lighting and electric fittings, furnishing fabric, office stationary, electronic appliances, consumer electronics, kitchen equipment and appliances, gift items, watches, etc from China have increased to a great extent in India.