Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The state’s forging industry has seen a fall in the final quarter of 2021-22 by 50% since October 15, said the marketing head of a forging company in Indore, Imran Qureshi, on Sunday.
The company is one of the two members from Madhya Pradesh affiliated to the apex body of forging industries in India called the Association of Indian Forging Industry (AIFI).
“Our industry works on the demand-supply chain like any other, but a minor difference is that we work on predictions of requirements, which means we may not have business for some more months. There is less or no demand for spare parts,” Qureshi said.
Talking about the business in pandemic-induced lockdown, he said, “The pandemic did affect the Indian economy and nobody was spared. But we still did good back then compared to our business now. We survived during March 2021-October 2021 period. But things began going down after that.”
The AIFI said in its statement to Free Press stated that the decline in automotive sales has affected forging industry hugely as at least 60% of the industry thrives on making automobile parts.
Due to factors like semiconductor chip shortage, rising input costs, increase in commodity prices and fuel costs, the total automotive sales in India have declined in double digits, said AIFI.
“The rising steel prices in India have hammered our industry into a sheet. Our association also wrote to the ministry of MSME, ministry of heavy industries, ministry of steel and ministry of commerce and industry in this regard besides writing to Prime Minister,” Qureshi remarked.
Vikas Bajaj, the president of AIFI said, “The industry is currently concerned over lack of semiconductor chips. It has an indirect impact on India's forging sector. Additionally, customers are experiencing extended wait times, and the demand-supply imbalance may have an impact on automakers throughout the festive season.”
Madhya Pradesh already is struggling to grow as a manufacturing hub. More than 95% of products manufactured by forging industry in the state are sent out of the state and India.
“With scarcity of manufacturing industries in the state, forging industry has no way to grow here. All that we manufacture is sent out. On the top of that, we are facing a 50% decline in our business,” Qureshi said.
Now, only controlling rising steel prices can push us back into business, he added.
