MSME association AICA seeks govt intervention to lower raw material prices

All India Council of Association of MSMEs (AICA) on Wednesday sought immediate government intervention for the reduction of raw material prices. The association has also announced one-day closure of all industries across the country on December 20 and a one-hour peaceful demonstration in front of the respective Collectorate/District Magistrate Office to press for the intervention of the Prime Minister to reduce raw material prices to the April 2021 level.

Closure of lakhs of MSMEs across India for a day will result in a production loss of Rs 25,000 crore, it claimed. MSMEs contribute about 30 per cent of GDP and 48 per cent to exports. “It is a matter of grave concern to all MSMEs across India that the prices of raw materials continue to rise for reasons not known.

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We have represented this alarming matter through our memorandums to Hon’ble Prime Minister and various other Ministers in the Union Government with a request to control raw material prices, but unfortunately, nothing has happened, and the situation of the MSMEs has only worsened day by day,” it said. Due to this problem, MSMEs are not able to execute orders taken at a much lower price, the association added.

It also pitched for fixing maximum retail price (MRP) for all raw materials. The association demanded protection against escalation for some period, an easy mechanism to hedge steel for all MSMEs, and NSIC should act as a consolidation agency. “Formula should be derived for price escalation. SAIL / Steel Industry must publish steel prices of Long products, Flat products and HRC coils on a quarterly basis. The price should be maintained firm for a period of a minimum of three months at a stretch,” it added.