In a cheering news to the industry, India's Tile hub Morbi's ceramic export has nearly double fold as compared to the last year and touched the magical number of Rs 2000 crores, according to the Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI).
The certificate of origin issued by Rajkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) claims that Morbi’s ceramic exports' figures for the month of July doubled in comparison to the previous year. Certificate of origin is a must in export documents and there are only few trade and industrial bodies that are authorised to issue such certificate. Based on these certificate, Ceramic export in Morbi broke all records during July.
Earlier, ICICI Securities made a claim that despite the recent slowdown on the account of COVID-19 lockdown, the growing exports would offer a lease of life for Morbi units once the lockdown is lifted. The statement has come true with the positive sentiment felt across the tile makers of the Morbi.
Higher export expectations
Though the official figures of export are awaited, industrial players claims a higher export, attributed to the current anti-China sentiments world over, as well as the low production in Italy and Spain due to the pandemic lockdown.
Kiran Patel, Director, Itaca Tiles echoed the same sentiment. He said, "People have started avoiding China and most of the European countries are buying from India which is the reason of this boom. I believe there are two reasons for the same, one is of course COVID-19 and secondly, the design, quality and variety available in tiles in India are hard to find anywhere else in the world. Therefore the export has gone up since the Lockdown was lifted. A lot more expansion is in the store which will make India a bigger export market." He also said that the industry is expecting almost 20-30% growth in the next few months.
Supporting the claim, Nilesh Jaitpariya, President, Morbi Ceramic Association, said, "After COVID, the anti china statement across the world resulted in a boost to Indian tile industry. This is the main reason for the increase in export. There is no demand and supply gap in the International market as Chinese market started to open when we were still in lockdown. Despite that, many international buyers opt for Indian suppliers instead of Chinese counterparts. So the growth is here to stay."
Nilesh Jaitpariya went on to say that "In fact, we are currently witnessing close to 20 to 25% growth which will increase upto 40%, six months down the line."
Industrialists get 40- 45 certificates of origin issued from RCCI every month, which means that the amount of export is nearly Rs 1,000 to 1,200 crore. But in July, they exported goods worth nearly Rs 1,800 to 2,000 crore.
Moreover, with the deferral of Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD) on Indian ceramic tile exports to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and newer export markets opening up, Morbi exports are expected to gain significant traction over the next 2-3 years.
Not all roses are red
However, there is another side of the coin. Some industry players believe that while there is a growth, it is mostly attributed to the demand and supply gap created due to COVID Lockdown. Once the gap is fulfilled, the real picture will come.
Bhavesh Ambani,CMD, Ambani Ceramics said, “The export has increased but there are several reasons, i.e., due to lockdown, a gap came in demand and supply so as soon as it was lifted, the demand increased. Secondly, many markets across the world have started to open up after intense lockdown resulting in the increase in demand. So I don't think that their is any significant change in the consumer behaviour. It's just the gap which is being filled. So I think there is any change in demand or supply."
Commenting the same, Rajan Patel, Director, Color Tiles from Colour Tile said, "Old Orders are getting fulfilled but there is no new market that has been explored. So we cannot say that the export has increased."
While the market is cheering for the good growth, results are still awaited. In fact, it is better to say that we must wait until the actual figures come out. However, SURFACES REPORTER (SR) feels that COVID has brought an immese load of opportunities due to people's displeasure over Chinese market and the gap can be readily fulfilled by the indiginous Morbi market.
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Information courtesy: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Cover Image Courtesy: sawdust.online
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