The government is learnt to be looking at measures to encourage companies to ramp up production of induction heaters, induction cooktops and compatible utensils. This comes at a time when these categories are witnessing high demand due to concerns over LPG availability amidst the West Asia conflict.
In this regard, a meeting was reportedly held on Friday by Commerce Ministry with participation of senior officials from various key Ministries such as Power Ministry, DPIIT and DGFT to discuss steps that can be taken to enable companies to increase production of induction heaters and cooktops among others. The meeting was reportedly chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
The ongoing geopolitical tensions have let to disruption of movement of ships through Strait of Hormuz, which has led to concerns over imports of crude oil and natural gas. Products such as induction heaters and cooktops and electric kettles and cookers have seen a surge in demand as consumers are increasingly looking at reducing reliance on LPG gas for cooking.
Ravi Saxena, Founder and CEO, Wonderchef, told businessline, “We have been witnessing 8-10 times higher demand for induction cooktops in the past three weeks due to LPG issues triggered by the West Asia conflict. In fact, we have also seen 3-5 times higher demand for other categories such as kettles, rice cookers, Nutri-pot (electric pressure cookers) and OTG. Given the dynamic geopolitical conditions, we believe we will continue to see high demand for these categories for the next 12-24 months, especially given the relatively low-price barriers of induction cooktops. Accordingly, we are ramping up production of these categories to cater to the higher demand.”
Industry executive some of the components required for manufacturing such products are imported, while some of the components are sourced domestically.
To maintain the supply chain in other sectors, the government on Thursday exempted the import of critical petrochemical products from customs duty for three months till June 30, giving relief to sectors like pharmaceuticals, chemicals and textiles, and ensuring supply stability amid the ongoing West Asia crisis.