The Indian rupee has fallen by Rs 5 to Rs 53.685 from Rs 48.816 against the US dollar in last few weeks.
It may sound very exciting for exporters but rupee depreciation is hitting Jamnagar exporters hard.
As the rupee continues depreciating against the US dollar, brass parts industry is one of the worst hit industries in area. Fallen valuations of rupee against the USD have made life worst for businessmen since last two months, exports are down 40% comparing to average.
Jamnagar imports 90-95% of raw material from US/Europe. Import costs of brass scrape is higher by almost 15-20 per cent, this is adding to production costs. The same however can not be passed to customers, as of now 80% of brass parts unit have cut operation time to 5/6 hrs from 8 hr.
Jamnagar a national hub for SME in the brass parts has around 5,000 brass parts units, almost 80% of it are in the small-scale industry category, with total annual turnover more than Rs 2,000 crore and provides employment to more than 2.5 lakh individuals.
International demand has sunken in the past few months which puts the brass parts industry in a vulnerable position. Raw material costs are increasing due to high UDS, with little order book on hand, business sustainability is a question. In last 2-3 months, brass scrap price has moved 40 rs to 320 rs per kg.
Slow demand in the domestic business is adding an insult to the injury,
Jamnagar’s brass part industry is a Rs 300 crore industry, it provides employment to rural and poor-urban populations.