Waraq business loses its sheen

The Waraq (gold and silver foils) business in Hyderabad, which once catered to the needs of all sweetmeat shops, paan houses and Unani hospitals across the state, is fast losing its glitter due to the influx of branded material from Sarangpur in Gujarat and from Uttar Pradesh.

Waraq, an Arabic word for ‘foliage’ or ‘leaves’, is used as a decorative cover on traditional sweets, desserts, paan, zarda, supari, chyavanprash and also as an ingredient in Unani medicine.

“The Waraq industry in Hyderabad is currently suffering a double whammy. Foils under various brands like Durga and Nataraj from other states are flooding the Hyderabad market, and sky-rocketing daily wages too are posing a serious challenge,” says Mohammad Akbar, a second-generation entrepreneur, who now runs the 60-year-old Ittehad Waraq Shop in the city.

Tucked away amid the by-lanes of the over 400-year-old Charminar, the Waraq industry thrived with about 25 shops three years ago. Now, the only five shops that are making these brittle, airy sheets of paper are also teetering on the brink of closure.

“Things have changed for the worse for our Waraq business. With the entry of ready-made branded foils from other states, many customers are purchasing them, though at a premium, as we take a day to deliver our products. We now cater only to small orders for weddings and parties,” says Ahmed, proprietor of Hyderabad Waraq Shop.

Volumes of the Waraq trade have plummeted over the years. The Indian Waraq industry is pegged at Rs 250 crore or 300 tonnes of silver foils annually. Until a couple of years ago, Hyderabad ranked third in the business after Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, manufacturing close to six kg of silver foils and 50 grams of gold foils a day. The city’s Waraq shops currently make only 2 kg of silver and 10 grams of gold foils daily.

“We sell 100 foils of silver for Rs 120 and gold foils are sold at Rs 50 per paper, while 100 branded silver foils imported from other states are being purchased for Rs 350. The industry is also grappling with shortage of skilled manpower. We offer a daily wage of Rs 185, but many are not willing to take up the job and prefer to drive auto-rickshaws or do electrical work, as they are uncertain about how long this industry in the city will flourish,” says Ahmed. The number of workers involved in Waraq making had come down to 80, from 300 earlier, he adds.