The difficulties of lock hardware manufacturers facing a downturn in corona virus, have increased. The market is 40-50 percent down. There is no order, raw material prices have increased. Rates of other raw materials including iron scrap, iron wire, brass blocks, brass scrap have increased by 8-10 percent.
If you look at the price of brass scrap, it was Rs 280 per kg in March before the lockdown was Rs 300 in early August, on Monday the price was Rs 330. Jhangat (Silli) wasRs 270 per kg before lockdown and in August it was Rs 275 per kg. There is a huge loss of 400 crores annually due to lack of demand in lockdown.
Malting iron scrap is up by Rs 6 per kg. The prices have been increasing since July. In March it was Rs 23 per kg, today it is Rs 29. Cutting seats coming from automobile companies were Rs 38 per kg in March, the price in July being Rs 40.
Today they are Rs 43 to Rs 44 per kg. Fresh sheet was Rs 41 per kg in March, Rs 43 in July and Rs 48 per kg today. An increase of seven rupees per kg has been recorded on the black fresh sheet.
The biggest impact of price hikes has been on the labor class that manufactures these locks and hardware parts and supplies to the big factory because since the cost of raw material has increased, the factory owner has not yet increased the payment. In this way, more than 4000 factories manufacturing hardware parts in small rooms are present in Aligarh. Not only this, the work of making hardware parts that is done in Aligarh, much of this work is of casting. Together including small and big, there are 400 furnaces in Aligarh, where the casting work is done. Most of these furnaces are closed due to increasing manufacturing cost. More than 1000 skilled laborers have reached to the verge of starvation.
BM Minto, Vice President Metal Merchant Association said that the international market of metal has gained momentum. It also has an impact here. There is no demand for finished goods in the market. Had the market been on the old pattern, the brass would have crossed ? 350 per kg. The goods did not arrive from America in the lockdown this time. There is also a brass shortage.
Rahul Agarwal, Iron Scrap Businessman said that the Automobile companies were closed in lockdown. Therefore there is a lack of cutting scrap in the market. A large number of lock manufacturers use this cutting. Large companies use fresh sheets. Their production is also being affected.