The coronavirus outbreak continues to haunt international trade. It is also likely to dampen Holi celebrations in Mumbai, as the price of sprinklers and water guns is likely to go up by nearly 15 to 20 per cent because of a lack of supply from China.According to the industry, India imports 90 per cent of Holi-related water toys from China.
While large distributors had already placed their orders in advance in November much before the outbreak, it is the small traders whose sales would suffer more, as they have not received a single consignment from China since November.
The prices of the waterguns range from Rs 10 to Rs 250, which will now be increased to Rs 30 to Rs 500.
“The demand for Indian sprinklers and water guns have increased in the city due to the scarcity of Chinese goods. As a result of this, we are planing to increase the price of products by 15 to 20 per cent, as the demand is more than supply,” said wholesalers at Masjid Bunder.
On the other hand, small traders will stick to selling last year's stock to protect themselves from losses. “Since we did not received any consignment. The old stock of sprinklers is there, which we need to sell. However, we have learned that the customers are not ready to buy the old stock, which may affect our business,” said Mahindra Rathod, working at Sunil Traders.
Meanwhile, doctors have urged citizens to take precautionary measures and avoid gathering for Holi and avoid using chemical colours. Moreover, the World Health Organisation has notified that any packages from China are safe and there is no possibility of the virus surviving on the surface of packages. “Indians have no reason to panic, since the ministry of public health is successfully managing the handful patients of coronavirus. However, preventive measures for any infectious disease suggest to avoid crowded places due to the possible chance of infection," said Dr Rahul Tambe, senior consultant, internal medicine, Nanavati Super Speciality Hospital.
