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Moradabad’s Handicraft Industry: Moradabad’s handicraft industry is facing a serious crisis due to the continuous increase in the value of the dollar. Due to cost of raw material and scrap, the cost of importers and artisans has increased, due to which profits are decreasing and production is being directly affected.
Moradabad : The continuous increase in the price of dollar has increased the problems of the artisans and producers associated with the handicraft industry of Moradabad. In the last three months, the prices of raw materials have increased by about 10 percent, due to which the economic pressure on importers and manufacturers has increased. The price of raw material has increased from Rs 225 per kg to Rs 250 per kg. This has had a direct impact on profits and concerns are deepening about the future of the handicraft industry.
Mohammad Noman Mansoori, President of Moradabad Handicrafts Development Society, said that as the dollar becomes stronger, the local artisans are becoming economically weak. In the handicrafts industry, artisans, manufacturers and exporters depend on large quantities of raw materials to enable the entire production process including casting, carving and finishing. He told that three months ago the price of one dollar was around Rs 88, which has now increased to around Rs 90.55. That means the increase of 1 to 1.5 rupees in the dollar has increased the cost significantly.
China is ready to pay higher price
Mansoori said that most of the scrap used in the handicraft industry is imported from abroad and reaches Mumbai. Importers pay foreign suppliers in dollars, which makes raw materials more expensive when the rupee weakens. Apart from this, China is also purchasing scrap on a large scale from the global market and is ready to pay higher prices, due to which Indian importers are facing losses in competition.
Trouble increased due to China
Mansoori said that China is a big production hub and its strong purchasing power is directly impacting the Indian market. The rates at which exporters had taken orders last month, now the prices of the same raw materials in the market have increased by Rs 15 to Rs 20 per kg. In such a situation, the factory owners have to buy raw material at expensive prices and fulfill the orders at the old rates, due to which all the artisans and producers are facing financial crisis.
8 thousand crores are spent only on scrap
Mohammad Noman Mansoori said that the handicraft industry of Moradabad exports about Rs 16 thousand crore annually, out of which about Rs 8 thousand crore is spent only on scrap and raw material. Then polishing, finishing and other costs are added. He has demanded from the government that scrap should be made available to the artisans and factory owners at cheaper rates, so that this traditional industry can be saved from the crisis.
