Ludhiana bicycles await China orders

The bicycle exporters have failed to secure any major order from China, despite participating in the international bicycle exhibition held in the country recently.

"We participated in the exhibition in order to get export orders from the global buyers. Instead of receiving them, we ended up giving orders for the import of bicycle and bicycle parts from the Chinese manufacturers, because the Chinese products were cheaper by 20-25 per cent, compared to Indian bicycles," said Neeraj Dhanda, a Ludhiana-based bicycle exporter who participated in the exhibition.

Indian bicycle exporters blame the recent change in the duty drawback rates for "forcing" them out of global competition.

Claiming it to be a big blow to the Indian bicycle exporters, primarily caused by the new duty drawback rates, Indian exporters said they returned with just 25 per cent of the total expected export orders from the exhibition.

"Now it has become profitable to source bicycle and bicycle parts from China and then export the same to the other countries," said another exporter who imported bicycle parts from China.

More than 100 Indian bicycle exporters, including 13 from Ludhiana, participated in the Chinese exhibition.

The government has fixed the duty drawback rates on the export of bicycle parts with a cap of 8 percent of free on board value. They were also against the increase in steel prices and heavy transportation cost.