Punjab’s desert cooler industry hopes to revive but feels the heat of escalation in input cost
BATHINDA: : The early onset of summer has brought cheer to Punjab’s desert cooler industry which was reeling under a slump for the last two consecutive years with manufacturers hoping to recover the losses this season despite a sharp rise in the prices of raw materials.
Industry sources say demand for coolers has increased manifolds due to rising temperature but escalating cost inputs of up to 37% have left them worried too.
There are around 350 desert cooler factories and ancillary units across the state engaged in manufacturing an estimated 5 lakh units annually. Bathinda houses around 120 such units, making it a hub of this smallscale sector in the state.
President of the North India Cooler and Fan Manufacturing Association Vikram Lakhi said in 2020, a pandemic-induced lockdown hit manufacturing and supply chain. Around 50 units closed down in the last two years due to a sudden fall in sales as manufacturers were unable to bear losses.
“Last year, cooler summers and lowered buying capacity of consumers of desert coolers drastically diminished this market. Since the pandemic outbreak, sales dropped by more than half of the production in 2019. But now, as the temperature is soaring around 42 degrees Celsius in April, we hope that the industry would revive and losses incurred in the past two years may be compensated to an extent this season,” he said.
Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, Bathinda had a record of manufacturing an average of 1 lakh pieces every year.
Sangrur is another key district catering to the cooler markets in Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi and other parts of the country.
A leading cooler manufacturer Venus Goyal said the sector is hopeful for a revival this season. Since air conditioners are now available easily on corporate loans, there has been a downward trend in the demand for room coolers.
“Our profit margins have reduced significantly due to sharp price rise in the basic materials in the the last two years. Since 2021, the rate of aluminum has increased by 37% to Rs 350/kg and the cost of copper has jumped by 25% to 925/kg. Similarly, the cost of steel has also spiked by 25% to Rs 95/kg,” he added. Munish Kumar Kansal, an ancillary manufacturer, said owing to unusually warmer days, there has been a spurt in demand for cooler components in Punjab and the neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Haryana.
“Sales are set to scale up and this season may help us in recovering losses of the last two years. With no support from the government, this small scale sector is battling for survival,” said Kansal.