Citing rising raw material prices, an association of major matchbox manufacturers in Tamil Nadu has announced a halt in production for twelve days starting April 6.
Speaking to indianexpress.com, V S Sethurathinam, secretary of the National Small Matchbox Manufacturers’ Association based in the state’s Thoothukudi district, said matchbox manufacturers have appealed to the state government to bring down the prices by purchasing the raw materials through Small Industries Development Corporation (Sidco) and selling it to them at nominal rates. Recycled Glass Candle Jars
The manufacturers said they have placed their demand before Minister for Industries Thangam Thennarasu, Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi, and other concerned officials.
“The prices of raw materials are increasing day by day. Cardboard, paper, potassium chlorate, wax, red phosphorus and other components needed for production have seen their prices increase by 30 to 50 per cent since January this year. A kilogram of cardboard, which was available for Rs 45 in January, now costs Rs 68. Similarly, the cost of paper has increased from Rs 35 to Rs 55 per kg, that of potassium chlorate has gone up from Rs 80 to Rs 110 per kg, rate for wax has spiked from Rs 70 to Rs 120 per kg, while that of red phosphorus has increased from Rs 650 to Rs 900 per kg,” Sethurathinam pointed out.
He added that the decision to halt production was taken jointly with several other manufacturers based in Tenkasi, Thoothukudi and Virudhunagar – the three districts which together form the hub of matchbox manufacturing. Wholesale buyers were unwilling to buy matchboxes from the manufacturers at the current prices, he said.
According to Sethurathinam, there are about 350 semi-mechanised companies and 50 fully mechanised companies under the association in the three districts. They involve about 1,500 packaging units and, directly and indirectly, employ about five lakh labourers.
The manufacturers mentioned that they have taken the financial situation of the labourers into account and will compensate for the temporary shutdown by providing them incentives at “the right time”.
“This is not against any state or central government, we have announced to halt production as a mark of unity. Also, due to the local festivals around Thoothukudi town, the number of labourers available for work has been very few. So this is like a lockdown which we have imposed on ourselves,” said Sethurathinam, indicating that fewer labourers will be affected by the production halt.
“Due to this decision, there will be a drop of Rs 200 Rs 220 crore in production. There will also be a loss of Rs 20 crore in wages and the government will incur a loss of Rs 5 crore in GST as there will be no production,” he added.
Last year, the price of a matchbox was increased to Rs 2 from Rs 1 in what was the first hike on the commodity since 2007. The manufacturers had then cited the increase in raw material and fuel prices as the reasons behind the hike.
Bulk Glass Candle Jars “We have been raising this demand for the past four to five years. We buy raw materials directly from other manufacturers and if the government regularises this by procuring these items through SIDCO, it will be a huge help for us as the cost of production will come down,” Sethurathinam said.