The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Sunday anticipated a festive trade of over Rs 12,000 crore across the country during the Rakhi festival.
The trade body said that the markets are witnessing a massive rush for Rakhi shopping, and people are very enthusiastic about the festival. It urged customers to celebrate the festival with Indian goods.
Observing the demands for indigenous Rakhis, the trade body stated that customers prefer indigenous Rakhis over Chinese Rakhis during this year’s festive season.
“For several years now, only indigenous Rakhis have been sold in the country, and this year too, there was neither demand for nor any presence of Chinese Rakhis in the market,” the CAIT said in a note.
Praveen Khandelwal, CAIT’s National General Secretary and Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk stated that the business during the Rakhi festival will reach Rs 12,000 crore, compared to last year’s trade of approximately Rs 10,000 crore.
In 2022, the business was around Rs 7,000 crore, in 2021 it was Rs 6,000 crore, in 2020 it was Rs 5,000 crore, in 2019 it was Rs 3,500 crore, and in 2018 it was Rs 3,000 crore, as per Khandelwal.
Khandelwal and CAIT’s National President, B.C. Bhartia, mentioned that this year, a special feature of the Rakhis is that special types of Rakhis have been made from famous products of various cities across the country.
According to the CAIT representatives, the customers are also demanding Khadi Rakhi made in Nagpur, Sanganeri Art Rakhi from Jaipur, Seed Rakhi from Pune, Woolen Rakhi from Satna in Madhya Pradesh, Bamboo Rakhi made from tribal items, Tea Leaf Rakhi from Assam, Jute Rakhi from Kolkata, Silk Rakhi from Mumbai, Date Rakhi from Kerala, Pearl Rakhi from Kanpur, Madhubani and Maithili Art Rakhi from Bihar, Soft Stone Rakhi from Pondicherry, Flower Rakhi from Bangalore, and more.
There is also high demand for Rakhis that display national pride, such as Tricolor Rakhi, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam Rakhi, Bharat Mata Rakhi, as per the CAIT representatives.
They added that the designer Rakhis and silver Rakhis are also selling well in the market.
The CAIT representatives expected festive sales of over 4 lakh crore due to the extended period of the festival this year which will be celebrated from August 19 to November 15 on the day of Tulsi Vivah.
“This year’s festive series will begin with Raksha Bandhan and continue through Janmashtami, the 10-day Ganesh Utsav, Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra, Karva Chauth, Dhanteras, Diwali, Govardhan Puja, Bhai Dooj, Chhath Puja, and other festivals, culminating with Tulsi Vivah. During this festive period, the business community across the country is fully prepared to meet consumer demands, and traders have stocked up adequately on all products,” CAIT added.