Ranipet MSMEs prefer to remain shut due to doubling of raw material prices, low demand

According to L Gandhijothi, secretary, Ranipet District Tiny and Small Industries Association, “We do not know whether price increase is linked to the phenomenal hike in fuel prices, but the fact is that a tonne of steel which earlier cost around Rs 42,000 is now being sold at Rs 82,000 and copper which sold for around Rs 80,000 a tonne now costs Rs 1.20 lakh.”“We do not know or could not figure out the reason for prices of raw materials going up though there was no demand due to lockdown,” Gandhijothi said, adding, “even if prices of fuel come down, it is a million-dollar question whether the cost of raw material will dip to the pre-lockdown levels.”Asked if the units had received any financial support from the government or financial institutions, an entrepreneur seeking anonymity said, “We received some sort of bridge loan during the first wave, but there was no help for us during the more debilitating second wave. Though units were under lockdown, we still continue to pay interests on such loans and this has hit us hard.”Such a situation has resulted in many units preferring to remain closed despite the government allowing them to function with 50 per cent workforce. “Using 50 per cent manpower won’t help us in any way as the targeted production cannot be achieved. Also lack of transport has forced many workers to stay home, even if they were willing to come for work.”Silver lining

The only silver lining is that government has started releasing industrial oxygen with 60 per cent supplies being met for units that need it, entrepreneurs said and added that 60 per cent oxygen cylinders taken away from supplying agents by the government to meet hospital needs during the peak of the second wave were now being returned