Madurai, Jan 30 (KNN) The National Small Matchbox Manufacturers’ Association on Sunday urged the Union andTamil Nadu government to impose a ban on the import of plastic lighters.

Addressing the media in Madurai, the association’s general secretary V S Sethurathinam said, taking into consideration the larger public interest and in the interest of six lakh daily wage earners who were dependent on match box units for their livelihood, the governments should seriously consider the demand and put an end to import of plastic lighters.

As per reports, in Tamil Nadu alone there are around 2,530 match units. The units are spread across Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Gudiyatham in Vellore and Kaveripattinam in Krishnagiri districts.

With the prices of raw material going up, the industry is already in a tough spot, Sethurathinam said adding that because of the cost of diesel and labour also having gone up, the manufacturers, especially those running small and cottage units, are finding it difficult to run their business. 

The association’s president further pointed out that at a time when the manufacturers have been demanding the banks to reduce the rates of interest and increase the quantum of loans for setting up state-of-the-art imported machinery, the Union government, through its budget announcement, should help the industry.

Moreover, incentives for export of the matches had drastically come down from 11 per cent to a meagre 1.5 per cent.This had totally demoralised manufacturers from going for exports. When even countries such as Pakistan gave 20 per cent incentive to their exporters, the Indian government should consider the appeal, he said.

After nearly 14 years, the price of a match box had been raised to Rs 2 in 2021.  (KNN Bureau)