Aluminum utensils manufacturers in the Jagadhri town of Haryana are seeing signs of revival in the wake of falling commodity prices.
The Rs 500-crore industry, which accounts for six per cent of the total domestic aluminum utensil industry, is anticipating a 10 per cent growth in turnover for the financial year 2009-10.
Earlier, when prices were volatile, the industry suffered a loss of 15-20 per cent in terms of volume.
According to the London Metal Exchange that governs commodity prices, aluminum in last one year declined from $3,200 per tonne to $1500 a tonne. Commodity prices are declining mainly due to a drop in crude oil prices.
Federation of All India Aluminum Utensils manufacturers president Bharat Garg, said orders had increased in the recent past.
Garg said his company, JB Aluminum Industries (P) Limited, registered a 40 per cent increase in orders for aluminum utensils in last few months.
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These were mostly coming from big retail chains, who now are focusing on private label to increase their profit margins.
According to Garg, the slowdown in the export market has offered an opportunity to them, which they can cash in on by focusing on value-added products.
“The demand for value-added aluminum utensils is higher in these markets and if we want to make ourselves competitive, more emphasis should be laid on such products,” he said.
Aluminum manufacturers here export 1-2 per cent of their products to countries in West Asia, Europe, America and South Africa.
JB Aluminum is aiming to manufacture two tonne of value-added aluminum utensils per month especially for the export market.