'Make In India' Diwali: Sale Of Chinese Items May Drop 45%, Says Report

As people across the country get ready to go shopping ahead of Diwali, customers are increasingly asking for India-made products, said a survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (Assocham), an industry body. Assocham noted that there seems to be a decline of about 40-45 per cent in consumption of Chinese products this Diwali in comparison to last year. In recent times, China-made fancy lights, lampshades, Ganesha and Laxmi idols, rangolis and fire crackers have flooded the markets.

Be it decorative items like lights, gift items, lamps and wall hangings or other products, the sale of Chinese products may decline by 40-45% this Diwali as compared to last year which was about 30% according to market reports from various states, the survey by Assocham-Social Development Foundation (ASDF) showed.

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

Shopkeepers interviewed for the survey said that people are not interested in purchasing Chinese products and are showing interest in local products including earthen diyas.

The demand of electronic items like LCDs, mobile phones and others items made in China has also declined by 15-20 per cent, said Mr D S Rawat, Secretary General ASSOCHAM releasing the Assocham paper.

Chinese products, especially fancy lights which were much sought-after by Indian customers, are losing their popularity due to quality issues as no shopkeeper gives guarantee on these items once they are sold.

Fire crackers made at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu are preferred over their Chinese counterparts, the survey said.

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