Panipat, Dec 11 (KNN) After two years of slowdown, Panipat’s blanket industry is looking forward to a promising season.

Mink blanket demand is strong this year, but production started four months late in September.

As many as 80 plants in Panipat are manufacturing mink blankets, 35 plants polar blankets and 40 plants 3D bedsheets.

The 'Textile City' faced a downturn in the mink blanket industry due to decreased domestic demand over the last two years. However, this Diwali season brought relief and joy to both manufacturers and traders.

The demand for their product is on the rise in the domestic market presently and the industries are running on their normal capacity.

Earlier, China had a stronghold in 3D bedsheets and mink blankets in the local domestic market and traders only imported these, but now, Panipat has broken the monopoly and the import of these Chinese products has almost stopped.

Pritam Singh Sachdeva, the president of the Panipat Industrialists’ Association, said that approximately 8 lakh kilogram of mink blankets is being manufactured here daily. This means that around 3.20 lakh blankets are being produced here in a day.

“The cost of mink blankets in the market this year is around Rs 195-200 per kg, which was only Rs 180-185 last year, he said. The price of the super soft quality of mink blankets is around Rs 220 per kg this season,” he said.

He added that approximately 1.25 lakh kg of polar blankets and around 20 lakh meter of 3D bedsheets is being manufactured in a day here.

Bheem Rana, the president of the Panipat Mink Blanket Manufacturers’ Association, said the overall market this year is satisfactory as compared to the previous two years.

“The blanket season starts in May every year, but due to an uncertainty in the demand, the production this year began in September. There is a good demand for mink and 3D bedsheets,” he said.

The traders dealing in polar blankets have also shifted to manufacturing mink blankets. Due to this, the demand for polar blankets is going down.

(KNN Bureau)