Jari units to have four-day week

Faced with extreme recession over the last few months, the local jari industry has decided to operate for just four days in a week. The move is expected to tackle the problem of overproduction. The demand for jari has also been on the decline.

At a meeting of over 50 jari manufacturers at the Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Thursday, the manufacturers decided to keep their units closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It was also decided that the units will operate for only eight hours on the remaining four days.

Raman Jariwala, a jari manufacturer of Surat, said: "Raw material prices in the international market have witnessed a steep hike in the past five months, pushing up prices of jari products. This has led to a tremendous fall in demand. The higher the production, the higher willbe financial losses. So we decided to cut production to four days a week. We expect the recession to continue for a few months."

"We have also formed an action committee that will regularly review the situation and decide on the future course of action," he added.Jariwala said necessary steps would be taken to ensure that the interests of jari workers are safeguarded.