“The hike in petrol and diesel prices will lead to an increase in freight charges and ultimately to higher cost of production for the small-scale units in the region. Subsequently, this will compel the industries to increase the prices of their products, thereby leading to erosion of their competitive edge,” said Siddharth Chakraborty, Sales Manager, Akash Food Products, a small-sized food manufacturing company in Assam.
Due to the severe power crisis in North East, industries in the region have to bear higher expenses for installing generator sets, which consume diesel, thus adding to their production costs. With the hike in petrol and diesel prices, the overall cost of production will go up further.
“The crippling power situation has made it difficult for the SMEs in the region to sustain their production levels. Now, the rise in fuel prices will further erode their topline,” said Sanjay Agarwal, proprietor of Chandan Marketing, a small Construction Company Guwahati.
In order to protect the interests of the industrial sectors in North East India, the Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER), the premier trade and industry body of the region, has asked the government to consider the plight of the industries in the region and introduce relief measures.
FINER has also urged the government to set up a ‘price stabilisation fund’ and to offer a relief package to compensate the extra price burden on the industries in North East India.