Moradabad MSMEs waiting for Govt’s attention towards brass industry for revival

Moradabad, June 14 (KNN) Moradabad, “The city of brass”, has been witnessing a decline in its traditional values of brass production. The MSMEs from the brass industry are so much under stress that they have to take into consideration the other metals like aluminium and iron.  

“The condition of the brass industry is not good as compared to the earlier times. The price of brass has increased tremendously with time. This is because of the low prices of brass in China. This has not only reduced the sale of brass, but also has forced the manufacturers to shift from brass to other metals,” said owner of Ranu Manufacturers, Moradabad.

“The reason of shift from brass to other metals like aluminium and iron is the lack of support from the government and the increase in prices,” he continued.

Similar is the state of other entrepreneurs too in the region. Gagan Katyal, the CEO of Bakson Enterprises said, “Foreign customers are not interested in purchasing brass and have shifted to aluminium and iron. The government has decreased the drawback rates and incentives for exports. Earlier there were incentives given by the government to promote brass, but now, the drawbacks have been cut down to 2%.”

“The incentives of export have been reduced from 15% to 10%, as a result of which volume of exports has also decreased. The power supply of electricity and the labour has always been a problem in this area. This has also added in the increase in price of brass. These problems are present in other metals also. But it is a bigger hindrance in the production of brass because of already increased price of brass,” he explained.

The price of brass is Rs. 350/kg whereas the price of aluminium is Rs. 125/kg.

The brass item manufacturers said that the number of artists designing and creating the brass items has declined drastically mainly because the manufactures are unable to pay them the high labour costs.
 
It may be recalled that earlier, the brass items were available at very nominal costs in the local gift shops. It was considered to be the first choice for gifting on any occasion. Not only in India, the demand for brass products have declined in the overseas market as well.
 
The significant fall in the demand of brass items followed by high cost of production has forced the manufacturers to manufacture aluminium and steel products which are comparatively affordable and in demand.

The manufacturers, seeking support from the state government, said that just like Khadi and Banarasi Silk, there is a need to focus on other traditional sectors too which are on the verge of extinction. (KNN/ FA)