Chennai: It may not be a cracker of a Diwali this year for about 500,000 families in Tamil Nadu’s Sivakasi town – India’s biggest firecrackers manufacturing hub – as they fear getting swamped by Chinese firecrackers.
“Two years back the illegal imports of Chinese firecrackers were sporadic. But this year it was phenomenal, threatening the domestic industry’s very existence,” G. Abiruben, president of the Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TNFAMA), Sivakasi, told IANS over phone.
“Nearly 35 per cent of the products made for this year’s Diwali remain unsold because of clandestine imports of several container loads of Chinese products,” he said.
Chinese firecrackers pose a threat to the Rs.6,000 crore Indian firecracker industry which is gearing up for Diwali on Oct 23.
Conservatively, industry experts estimate that the value of clandestine imports of Chinese firecrackers is around Rs.600 crore for about 2,000 containers.
The central government has said that advertisements would be issued in the dailies warning of action against illegal imports of firecrackers, but no such publicity has been given till date though the time is running out, industry officials complain.
Sivakasi, also known as ‘kutti’ or ‘mini Japan’, is one of the oldest and biggest firecracker manufacturing hubs in India. Nearly 90 per cent of the country’s fireworks are made in Sivakasi. Also, 80 per cent of the safety matches are made here.
According to K. Mariappan, member of senior advisory committee, TNFAMA, imports of firecrackers need licence from the central government. And no import licence has been issued till now to anybody.
The Indian industry realised the seriousness of the Chinese threat when their order intake came down drastically around November-December of 2013.
“Normally orders are placed around that time by distributors. Orders for this Diwali came down drastically as compared to 2012,” Mariappan said.
The orders for next Diwali will be taken during this November-December and industry officials feel that only when the central and state governments start cracking down on illegal imports would the domestic industry survive.
He said the use of potassium chlorates while making firecrackers is banned in India, whereas no such ban exists in China.
“We use potassium nitrate (price Rs.70/kg) and aluminium powder (Rs.250/kg) whereas the potassium chlorates used by the Chinese costs just Rs.25/kg. This gives huge price advantage for the Chinese products over ours,” Mariappan said.
Additionally, the Indian manufacturers have to pay excise and sales tax adding to the products’ cost. As a result, the price of Indian products is higher by around 40 per cent.
According to Abiruben, firecrackers made with potassium chlorates are friction sensitive and have to be handled very carefully.
“Our products have to comply with the noise pollution levels and also the packaging rules. Our packets should specify the maximum retail price, the phone numbers in case of any emergency and usage methods whereas no such stipulations are there for Chinese products,” he said.
Mariappan said containers with Chinese firecrackers come into India through different points like Navi Mumbai, Tuticorin and others. The Chinese products are targeted at the Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi markets on which the Indian industry is largely dependent.
Queried as to the type of firecrackers that are illegally imported into India, he said mostly it is aerial shots and children products that are brought in.
According to Abiruben, the Indian fireworks industry is entirely home grown and there are around 60 ancillary sectors that are dependent on this industry. (IANS)