Sale of Chinese products drops in Chandigarh after boycott calls

The sale of Chinese products has been hit in the city after calls to boycott Chinese goods were given post the Galwan Valley face-off between the Indian troops and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China.

Traders say that there are no takers for electronics, 90% of which are Chinese.

President of Radha Mobile Market in Sector 22B, Maninder Ahuja, said, “The anti-China wave has hit both the sale and repair of mobile phones. Earlier, Chinese phones would sell the most, and from over 10 phones a day, we can manage to sell 4 or 5 phones now. People are going for alternatives even though they may be a little more expensive.”

Due to tensions between the two countries, spare parts for Chinese phones were also becoming hard to procure. “For repairing a damaged screen, the cost has almost doubled. Rather than repairing the screen of a Chinese phone for ₹5,000, people are preferring to put in more money to get a new phone,” Ahuja added.

Sale of other electronic items such as lights has also been affected, but more from the shopkeepers’ end. RP Gupta, chairman of the Sector 18 Electronics Market Dealers Association, said, “Earlier the market was predominantly filled with Chinese lights, but now people are buying branded LED lights. Shopkeepers, too, aren’t stocking Chinese lights anymore.”

‘INDIAN PRODUCTS NO MATCH’

As per Anil Dhingra, the proprietor of Ad’s Mobile Arcade in Sector 22B, people are trying to look for alternatives, but they still end up purchasing Chinese gadgets. “Chinese phones are loaded with features for lower prices, so there really is no other option,” he said.

Most toys in Chandigarh are also made in China, however, as per Shrey Budhiraja, proprietor of Budhiraja Toys Center in Sector 22, it is impractical to totally boycott Chinese made goods. “There is no infrastructure for bulk producing battery-powered toys in India. Customers also opt for Chinese made toys, so it would take some effort to switch to Indian toys,” he said.

The Chandigarh Beopar Mandal hasn’t officially told traders to boycott Chinese products, president Anil Vohra confirmed, adding that some members had taken the initiative on their own. “We are definitely against Chinese products, but it is important that traders not suffer. We will gradually shift to Indian-produced goods once they become available in the markets,” he said.