Protests supporting Boycott Chinese products are probably at their all time high this year in the city, as well as most parts of the state. However, the largest trade body of the state, FJCCI, has chosen not go with the wind with blind eyes. Hiding the interests of trader fraternity tactfully behind the prevailing trade between India and China and domestic inflation, the trade body members said that the first and largest stone to crush Chinese import was to be thrown by the government, not by the trade body.
“Chamber is not in favour of any such protest, which ultimately tries to pick the pocket of end consumers. We are traders, who would continue to purchase goods from cheaper markets, which, for the time being, is China. So, we are not China-loving. We are just cost loving and are directly guided by our consumers,” said Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) president Vinay Agrawal. However, he added that the Chamber was completely in support with Indian products for Diwali, and after that as well. “We have decided to support our pot-maker fraternity and around 2 lakh members of the Chamber in State would try to purchase Diya and other products from local pot-makers only. But I must say that either Government should ban whole lot of Chinese products from mobile phones to noodles, or it should ban seasonal demonstration of boycott Chinese products, which is hurting only interests of our own” said Agrawal.
“We can’t do anything. If we really want our market to be free from cheap Chinese products, it is the government which will have to take the call. We will have to replace China on production front. Only after that traders will stop going there for sourcing. But that is not going to happen in a year or two. And until and unless that happens, we will have to earn our bread and butter the way we have been doing since some years,” said FJCCI Secretary General Ranjeet Kumar Garodia.
He, however, said that he was not in support of Chinese goods. “But the issue is that China has overshadowed our market and products on price. So, we find ourselves helpless when we find customers looking for only cheaper products. I am a die-hard fan of domestic products as far as a consumer in me is concerned. But as a trader, I need to look at my balance sheet at the end of the day,” Garodia said.
The Chamber officials named ongoing protests as seasonal ones. “I must tell you that I have been witnessing these kinds of protests since last 10 years, especially Holi after Holi and Diwali after Diwali. These have turned into nothing more than self-marketing tools for attention-seekers. This year the issue has just become more relevant. Why doesn’t government ban it at first place,” said an ex- office bearer of the Chamber seeking anonymity.
As per rough estimates of FJCCI, the state consumers spend somewhere around Rs 1,200-1,500 Crores on Chinese products before every Diwali, mostly on lights. So what if India stopped sourcing from ChinaIJ “I will tell you what. Our market is not production centric yet. We will then source them from European countries. Those countries will pass our orders only to China, making same products costlier, again something which we can’t afford,” said Chamber Vice-President Kunal Ajmani. So, what is the way forwardIJ “I use and support to use domestic products. But Tatas are going to China, Government is going to China. We alone can’t fight this battle. Policy needs to be changed,” added Ajmani.