Steep hike in prices of Chinese mobile phone accessories

HYDERABAD: Prices of mobile phone accessories, which are imported from China, have seen a steep increase after the call to ban all Chinese goods.
Jagdish Market in Abids is the city’s largest mobile market where all kinds of accessories - right from earphones to USB cables, pouches, chargers and cases and even new phones manufactured by local companies — are available. Nearly 800 shops are in the market with an average of 2,000 to 4,000 customers visiting daily.
After the clashes at Indo-China border and the call to ban all Chinese goods, shopkeepers, who have limited stock and fear a shortage of accessories, have increased the prices. For instance, a pouch, which used to be sold for Rs 80 to Rs 250 is now sold for Rs 350. Similarly, prices of other accessories too have seen an exorbitant increase. “There is an acute shortage of China-imported accessories from Chennai and Mumbai to the city. The pandemic in China could be the reason for shortage of material. Apart from this, a ban on Chinese products could also be another reason for prices to shoot up,” Abhishek, a trader who has been selling accessories for a decade at Jagdish Market, told TOI.
“Earlier, I used to earn nearly Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 in a day by selling mobile and laptop accessories but now the income has gone down to below Rs 10,000. It has become very difficult to pay rental to the showroom,” said another trader Durgesh. “The prices are now equal to online prices,” Mounika, a customer said.