Press Trust of India / New Delhi Mar 12, 2010, 15:40 IST
Battery maker Eveready Industries today said it is raising prices of its products by up to 10 per cent due to surging input costs.
The company said rising zinc cost, a key raw material for manufacturing batteries, coupled with the excise duty hike in Budget 2010 are the main factors for increasing battery prices.
"Over the past 4-5 months there has been a continuous upward climb in zinc prices...Which has adversely impacted the manufacturing cost of carbon zinc batteries," Eveready Industries Vice Chairman and Managing Director Deepal Khaitan said in a statement.
Besides, the product segment had to bear two per cent hike in excise duty from 8 per cent earlier to 10 per cent made in the Union Budget 2010, the company said.
"These have left us with very little options but to pass on a part of the increase in the costs to the market. We are also increasing the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) of all types of batteries by 5 per cent to 10 per cent with immediate effect," he said.
Eveready sells around 1.2 billion batteries annually. Besides, dry cell batteries, the company offers household items like torches, rechargeable batteries, CFL lamps, packet tea and mosquito repellents.
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