Punjab Fastener Manufacturers Facing Competition from Plants Close to Ports

John Wolz

About 250 small fastener manufacturers in Amritsar, India, have shut down and another 1,000 in the region are “on the verge of closure,” the Business Standard of India reported.

Costs, inventory and location problems are being blamed and some remaining business are losing money, reporter Viney Sharma of Business-Standard wrote.

Punjab faces competition from cities closer to ports such as Kolkata,
Fasteners Manufacturers Association of India chair Mohinder Paul Jain told the Business-Standard that the interior manufacturers are paying India Rupees 2,000 (U.S.$45.3) more per metric ton for shipping than the manufacturers in the port markets of Kolkata and Vishakapatnam.
The association is seeking a state excise tax exemption to offset the costs.
“Since we have to sell the products outside the state, we have to pay the freight,” Jain told Business-Standard. Reducing the tax could increase production and yield more revenue for the state in the long run. �2006 FastenerNews.com