The West Asia crisis is affecting export-oriented manufacturing units here, with handtool companies facing challenges such as labour shortages, rising input costs and inadequate gas supply, impacting production and potentially weighing on the country’s exports.
The other difficulties they are facing include high interest rates, container availability, increase in shipping and air freights and high insurance cost.The units are however hopeful that the ceasefire announced between the US and Iran for 15 days will lead to an end to the conflict, helping ease these challenges.
The joint attack launched by the US and Israel on Iran on February 28 severely disrupted the country’s exports to West Asia, pushed up shipping freight, air transport prices and insurance costs.
Disruptions in the movement of oil and gas from Middle East countries have also led to an increase in the prices of raw materials such as steel, plastic and rubber.
“Units in Punjab are facing a labour shortage. Workers who had gone to their villages in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar for the Holi festival have not yet returned, and we are reaching out to them. Reverse migration is a major concern,” said Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President S C Ralhan, who also owns a hand tools unit in the Ludhiana export cluster.
https://www.business-standard.com/industry/news/west-asia-crisis-ludhiana-handtool-export-units-face-labour-gas-shortages-126041200586_1.html