Punjab hand tool makers expect higher exports

Punjab’s hand tool manufacturers, most of them located in Jalandhar and Ludhiana, expect the next fiscal year to be better for the industry.

In order to explore new markets, over 30 hand tool manufacturers participated in one of the world’s biggest hardware fairs in Cologne in Germany, which was held from February 28 to March 3.

Units which participated in the fair, a majority of which are SMEs, received a lot of queries. They expect to convert these queries into orders, thereby increasing their exports in 2010-11.

In the current fiscal year the slowdown in foreign markets has affected Punjab’s hand tool industry, which accounts for 70-80 per cent of the total hand tool exports from India. Exporters are of the view that this year exports will decline significantly, as the industry is facing tough times in the absence of buyers.

They expect that exports of hand tools from India may witness negative growth of 16.18 per cent this fiscal year and touch Rs 750 crore, compared to Rs 894.81 crore during the corresponding period last year.

Speaking to Business Standard, Engineering Export Promotion Council convener, hand tools panel, Sharad Aggarwal said, “Exporters managed to get new orders but the quantum of order was not at par with what we got two years back, as buyers were still hesitant to place new orders. But at the same time the buyers showed interest. If these queries are converted into orders, the export of hand tools will definitely bounce back in the next fiscal year.”

Echoing similar sentiments, the assistant director of the Engineering Export Promotion Council, Opinder Singh said, “Manufacturers from Punjab managed to get orders. Exports will definitely bounce back in the next financial year.”

The hand tool industry of Punjab employs nearly 60,000 people and consists of about 350 units, a majority of them SMEs. The major export markets are the US and the European Union, which account for 50 per cent of total exports from Punjab. Exporters supply hand tools to major retail chains like Wal-Mart, B & Q and Home Depot.

Punjab’s hand tools industry grew 15 per cent in the last fiscal, after a decline in 2007-08 and 2006-07. In 2008-09, exports were worth Rs 894.81 crore.