Diwali 2022: Firework industry’s sale surges to ₹6,000 cr; Maharashtra tops

Despite the rise in firecracker‘s price, the sales went up due to the last two muted years of the pandemic.

This year, sale of firecrackers was comparatively higher. It was similar to that of business trends between 2016 and 2019.

According to Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA) president, Ganesan Panjurajan said, “The present ₹6,000 crore retail turnover is only a ballpark figure and it reflects aspects like price increase”.

The TANFAMA President said, between 2016 and 2019, the sale for each year was approximately between ₹4,000 and ₹5,000 crore.

However, in 2020 and 2021, the overall retail sales for each of these two years were less than the average for the preceding years respectively.

Besides, Ganesan said, ” There is no inventory left with any of us”.

He said Maharashtra recorded the highest sales of firecrackers this year, followed by the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar region and Gujarat. “Definitely, Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra bought a big chunk of total production,” Ganesan said.

“All the firecrackers that were manufactured were green, strictly in accordance with the guidelines of the Supreme Court and government authorities,” Ganesan said. Since the use of barium nitrate is not allowed, the industry has switched to other permitted items like strontium nitrate and other oxidising agents, he said. “However, we have a huge challenge in respect of things like strontium as they have a pretty short shelf-life and it also involves a more painstaking manufacturing process,” he said.

The Sivakasi region in Tamil Nadu’s Virudhunagar district is the national hub of the fireworks industry. Managing Director of Ayyan Fireworks, G Abiruben said the sale was brisk this year and the production and sale was out-and-out green crackers, which has led to 35% reduction in emissions, in compliance with norms.

Abiruben spoke about the firecrackers’ choices of people and said, ‘shots’ variety of fireworks that light up the skies are popular among the masses.

It is an evident trend and more people are picking the light-sound-crackling variety of fireworks, he said. Flower pots, ‘ground chakras’, crackers and rockets were among the other varieties that witnessed the good sale.

There was good demand from almost everywhere, barring Delhi which imposed a ban. Years ago, the approximate share of joint-crackers out of a bouquet of products was over ₹1,000 crore, and following the Supreme Court ban on the use of barium nitrate in 2018, its production was halted.