Despite the fact that the market for decorative lights has declined, Chinese LED fairy and decorative lights continue to account for 60% of the market.
The holiday season has increased demand for fairy and decorative lights.
Despite the ‘Make in India’ initiative, however, Chinese-made lights continue to dominate the domestic market.
According to industry sources, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the market for LED fairy and decorative lights was over 90%.
However, the market size has changed significantly after two years of pandemic. LED lights made in the United States now account for 40% of the market, while Chinese products continue to dominate the decorative lighting market, accounting for more than 60%.
Acknowledging the trend, vice president of Ahmedabad Cutlery and General Merchant Association Amit Desai said, “The pre-Covid market share for LED decorative lights was around 90% in Ahmedabad. However, this has now gone down to 60%.”
He added, “While it is a noticeable change for the country, it will take a long time to see complete dominance of indigenous lights at our places.”
‘Still dependent on China’
Jaysukh Patel, MD of Oreva, which makes products like lighting, electronics, electric bikes and home appliances, said, “The indigenously made LED lights will soon capture around 90% share of the local market. We still import components for LED fairy and decorative lights from China. As we only assemble them here, we are still dependent on China.”
Dhiraj Jajwani, an Ahmedabad-based LED light manufacturer said, “While we import most components from China, we manufacture the complete products locally and in many designs. China doesn’t offer that.”
Jajwani added, “In the past four years, we have seen a 30% rise in LED decorative light business. We also supply it to other cities and states.”
In the market, fairy lights are available from Rs 70 to Rs 1,000. However, the ones between Rs 120 to Rs 500 are the most in demand.
However, experts believe that uprooting Chinese products from Indian markets seems to be difficult as they have penetrated deeply due to their extremely competitive prices.
Laxman Aswani, a cutlery dealer and retailer in the old city, said, “We still see Chinese cutlery, cosmetics and decorative lights being sold in the local market. So, penetration of indigenously manufactured lights will take time.”
Gujarat Traders’ Federation (GTF) President Jayendra Tanna said, “Until the central government implements strict import laws, we can’t stop the dominance of Chinese goods.”
He continued, “The government must develop a comprehensive policy to encourage the MSME sector to manufacture indigenous products in India. This may result in lower final product prices.”