Dip in print volumes post the demonetisation move
A printer in Hyderabad put it succinctly, that just when the market had picked up, "the light at the end of the tunnel for struggling commercial printers was in actuality, a train approaching from the opposite direction." The reference was to the demonetisation drive which was rolled out on 8 November has created "a slump in print consumption and affected the small print firm, the hardest."
25 Nov 2016 | By Rahul Kumar
Khadilkar Road, a 10-minute walk from Charni Road station, is the wedding card hub for both Indian and overseas buyers
Many commercial printers said they are "in trouble". After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the nation on 8 November, in which he banned the use of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes, the impact was more than visible in Delhi's Chawri Bazar and Mumbai's Khadilkar Road. Anecdotal evidence suggests that "traditional printers are under severe pressures as demand for printing of wedding cards has dipped in what is otherwise a busy season."
A paper trader who spoke to PrintWeek India said, "There has been a curtailment in wedding spending in India, since this is usually in cash." This has led to empty shops in areas like Chawri Bazaar and Khadilkar Road, the hub of the wedding cards sector in Delhi and Mumbai.
Reports from markets in Coimbatore and Surat also point to empty shops. Many printers have seen "cancelled orders, or worse still, the client refusing to collect the printed cards due to a lack of cash for the payment". Card makers in Mumbai are stating that they are delivering half the order printed and at times, requesting their loyal customers to pay for the wedding cards that have been printed.
Industry experts state that print demand was seeing a pick up after two years which were "sluggish". A supplier said, "The print markets was good in the pre-Diwali season. But then came the surgical strike. Now, things are moving slowly. Let's see how it goes."
He added, "Small people (including small traders) are having a tough time, let's hope things change post 30 December 2016."
Meanwhile the ceramic print market in Morbi (Gujarat) has also seen a partial shutdown. More than 20% of the 500+ ceramic units have had to shut down due to "a cash crisis".
Nilesh Jetpariya, president of the Morbi Dhuva Glaze Tiles Association said in a media statement that, “15-20 percent of the units have temporarily downed their shutters. This is because they are unable to pay salaries or are not able to pay the truckers who bring in the raw material". Jetpariya estimated the daily losses to be Rs 20 crore.
Today 825 million sq/metres is the total India production of ceramic tiles. Of this, Morbi's share is approximately 350-375 million sq/metres and exports is about 25% at 100-125 million square metres.
There are seven commercial print firms in Morbi with two major players – Print Zone Offset and MorbiPrint City turning over Rs 10-crore business, while the rest put together cover another Rs 10-crore.
The packaging industry is a volume based business, low-quality and low-priced litho-laminated corrugated cartons, mostly produced on approximately 50 very-large-format (VLF) presses - a combination of one-, two- and four-colour presses.
Most of the printers who PrintWeek India spoke to said they did not disagree with the objectives behind the government's decision, but added that "the move of demonetisation will hurt print growth and especially affect the two lakh units of small printers and workers in the sector."
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