Taj Mahal makers face margin issues

Small-scale handicraft manufacturing units of Agra are running into problems. The units carve out thousands of miniature Taj Mahals from marble blocks, which are then sold through emporiums.

Rising prices of marble and other soft stones, the recently imposed 4 per cent VAT on marble goods and the low profit margins offered by export contractors were the issues hurting the industry the most.

Ramesh C Sharma, director, Sharma Marble Industries Pvt Ltd, said while the prices of marble and other stones, sourced mostly from the stone quarries in Rajasthan, had risen over 30 per cent in the past five years, the profit margins witnessed a steady decline as the export contractors were not willing to raise the amount paid to the manufacturing units.

Rupendra Gaur, owner of a small-scale in the Gokul Pura area, said the rejection rate was as high as 5-6 per cent in the case of statuettes.

He added since most of the work was done manually and there was low reliance on electricity, the turnaround ratio per worker was extremely low, which reflected on the overall profit margins as the units operated operated in an unorganised manner and offered products on credit to the contractors.

As a result, he added, some of the larger manufacturers had begun selling their products directly to emporium owners who offer better prices. The owners had rigid quality norms and the purchased quantities were small.

According to Prahlad Agarwal, chairman, UP Handicraft Development Centre, since most of the marble handicraft manufactured in Agra was meant to be sold over the counter by the numerous handicraft emporiums of the town to tourists, both domestic and foreign, business was usually at its peak during the months of September to February. During the remaining six months, sales slipped to less than 25 per cent due to high summer temperatures.

He said there had been attempts by the state government like organising trade fairs and holding a permanent