With the onset of marriage season in the months of May and June, Surat-based textile transporters are expecting wedding bells in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to ring their cash registers as well.
Post strike on April 5, orders for synthetic dress materials and sarees had dipped from various states resulting in transporters losing business. So much so that the number of trucks plying daily out of the synthetic textile hub dropped from 1,500 to 800. However, the upcoming marriage season is expected to change the scenario.
"Most of the traders in these states booked bulk of the textile products before the strike. But after that the daily dispatching capacity of synthetic dress materials and sarees at Surat came down to 50-60 per cent. We hope with the onset of marriage season in some states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the orders will begin to pick up," said Yuvraj Desale, president of Surat Textile Goods Transport Association (STGTA).
According to Desale, on an average, transporters earn a per truck revenue of Rs 2,500 daily. "The fall in orders had us reeling under rising costs. But soon we expect the dispatching capacity to growing by 30-40 per cent in the coming weeks," he added.
Some time back, as many as 250 transporters associated with STGTA had been affected by the political instability surrounding Telangana. Frequent riots and arson had resulted in fall in number of trucks being dispatched everyday from 50 to 10. Members of the association had incurred a loss of Rs 20 crore in the months of December 2009 and January 2010.
However, Desale added orders rose in due time. "The fear of losing out on inventory due to strike in the month of April resulted in several traders across states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar offering bulk orders to Surat," he added.
