President of Wall Tiles Division, Morbi Ceramic Association, Mr Nilesh Jetparia has stated in a public statement that, responding to the increasing economic pressures on the industry, the association has decided to the increase tiles price by 10%-20% from April 01, 2019.

The price increase comes as the industry’s proactive measure to protect both its profitability and existence. The tiles price list of the industry has been facing severe challenges, especially from the policy changes announced by NTG and Rajasthan Government. NTG has announced that almost 45% of the manufacturers in the Morbi ceramic cluster will have to shut down operations, citing the usage of coal gasifiers. Although majority of the said manufacturers had manufacturing practices in line with the local environmental policies, they have been asked to shift to PNG based gasifiers. GPCB has enacted the forced shutdown, affecting close to 45%-55% of the manufacturers from the Morbi ceramic cluster.

Additionally, Rajasthan government has issued a policy prohibiting the transport of soda and ash feldspar in chips form, forcing the same in powdered form. The said raw materials in their chips form were used in manufacturing of vitrified tiles by several players in the Morbi ceramic cluster. Also, GCC is investigating alleged dumping practices by the Indian ceramic exporters and may issue a CVD on the same.

In order to save the industry from witnessing further downfall in profitability, the prices are being increased. This will also affect the prices of branded products such as Kajaria Tiles and Johnson Tiles.