Mangaluru: Cracker sales have seen a drastic decline this year. From GST to inclement weather, leading dealers of firecrackers in the city have pinpointed at least five factors that have played a major role in the fall in sales.

Dinesh Bhandarkar of Ganapathi Bhandarkar and Sons said the main reason was a high GST slab. The government has levied the highest tax slab of 28% on crackers on MRP. Prior to imposition of GST on firecrackers, the traders had to pay a tax of 14.5%.

He said inclement weather, lack of interest among children because of campaigns in schools on eco-friendly initiatives are also some of the reasons for the dip in sales. He said the Supreme Court ruling on ban against burning firecrackers in Delhi had an impact on the market in the city as well. “Our outlets used to be jam-packed during Diwali. This year, they wear a deserted look. There is hardly any business,” he said.

Mohammed Usman, who runs a franchise of Indian crackers and fireworks, said the collective conscience was against buying China-made crackers. “The public is against Chinese products because of the wounds that country has inflicted on India. I do not know of any shop in the city that sells Chinese firecrackers and sparklers this year,” he said.

“China-made crackers cost less. Hence, people used to buy a lot. However, this year, as we have only Indian crackers which are of better quality and hence cost more, people think twice before investing,” he said, adding that he had sold China-made crackers worth Rs 10 lakh last year, while this year, he put only Indian crackers on sale because of public demand. He said the business was slow and he was hence gifting some select sparklers with every buy to lure customers.

The two other important reasons he mentioned were the effects of demonetisation and GST.
“Since the market is down, the flow of money is slow. Moreover GST has made things worse,” he said. He said his outlet has seen a decline of at least 25-30% in sale of firecrackers. He said incessant rain, too, added to the woes of the cracker dealers.

Ananth Kamath, managing partner of Maya Traders, said though there was not much downfall in the overall turnover, the sale of crackers had certainly declined. He reiterated that ban on China-made crackers had a role to play in the fall in sale.

Also, the district administration, till the time of filing this report, had not granted permission to set up firecracker stalls roadside. The change of the district deputy commissioner has apparently further led to the delay in knowing whether these hawkers would get licences or not. Such stalls, which used to be setup across the city, used to make a profitable business. Kamath said though it was too early to say whether his venture would make the expected business, it was, for the time being, lower than expected.