Kite-Flying Festival To Be Expensive Affair This Year
Kite artisans in Gujarat’s Surat are busy in preparations for makar sankranti. But this year, the festival seems lacking in fervour because inflation has not only sent kitchen budgets haywire but also affected the sale of kites and strings.
Kite-flying has an important role to play on makar sankranti, when kites and strings are purchased with great enthusiasm. But due to inflation and Goods and Services Tax (GST), the kite market is eerily quiet this year and trade has declined by upto 70% compared to last year.
Kite traders are distressed because inflation has cut short the sales of kites this year. While earlier, kites were available for Rs 10-15 in the market, this year, kites are costing Rs 20 and more, and kite strings are priced above
Rs 100. Kite shops are ready for sale in cities but there are hardly any buyers, due to which kite traders are disappointed. Everyone likes to fly kites, especially when the occasion is makar sankranti and the fun is doubled. People going to shop in the markets this year say that they wait for kite-flying throughout the year but kite prices are skyrocketing due to inflation and GST. Earlier, while people could buy kites at low prices, this time they are being forced to think what to buy. The largest market for kites in India is in Gujarat, Jaipur, Kolkata, Jodhpur and Lucknow. According to a 2018 study by ASSOCHAM, the kite trade in the country is worth Rs 1,200 crore and the biggest share of this is in Gujarat, which alone accounts for a trade of Rs 500 crore. Over here, 100 crore kites are made each year, in which 70,000 traders are involved but due to heavy inflation, the trade has now reduced to almost nil.
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Kite traders are distressed because inflation has cut short the sales of kites this year. While earlier, kites were available for Rs 10-15 in the market, this year, kites are costing Rs 20 and more, and kite strings are priced above
Rs 100. Kite shops are ready for sale in cities but there are hardly any buyers, due to which kite traders are disappointed. Everyone likes to fly kites, especially when the occasion is makar sankranti and the fun is doubled. People going to shop in the markets this year say that they wait for kite-flying throughout the year but kite prices are skyrocketing due to inflation and GST. Earlier, while people could buy kites at low prices, this time they are being forced to think what to buy. The largest market for kites in India is in Gujarat, Jaipur, Kolkata, Jodhpur and Lucknow. According to a 2018 study by ASSOCHAM, the kite trade in the country is worth Rs 1,200 crore and the biggest share of this is in Gujarat, which alone accounts for a trade of Rs 500 crore. Over here, 100 crore kites are made each year, in which 70,000 traders are involved but due to heavy inflation, the trade has now reduced to almost nil.
#Kite traders suffer as demand for kites fall amid rising prices. Compared to the last year, kite business has come down by 70%@rumanaalvi4#kitefestival #uttarayan
— GoNewsIndia (@GoNews_India) January 7, 2020
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