Sivakasi, the city in Tamil Nadu which is synonymous with the country's green firecracker industry, is now targeting the global market which is dominated by Chinese players.
According to experts, the size of Sivakasi's fireworks industry is approximately Rs 6,000 crore, and is poised for further growth due to its rapid adoption of environmental-friendly standards.
Industry players based in the city want to make inroads in the global export market, where China holds the edge with an annual turnover of Rs 26,000 crore, says an Indo-Asian News Service report.
"The American and European markets are looking at us like the industry used to look at China 20 years ago," the news agency quoted S Maheswaran of Standard Fireworks, a top firecracker brand in Sivakasi, as saying.
One of the reasons why Sivakasi's firecracker industry has grown is its quick adoption of green norms. The firecracker units based in the city are mostly producing green crackers, which emit fewer pollutants as compared to traditional crackers.
The recently set-up National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) lab by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Sivakasi has proved to be another shot in the arm for the city's firecracker units.
Earlier, samples of the crackers were sent to the CSIR-NEERI lab in Nagpur for ascertaining their adherence to the environmental standards. With the lab now set up in Sivakasi, firecracker makers are able to save time and cost.
The CSIR-NEERI lab, notably, provides an additive that is required to be mixed with the firecrackers. This process ensures that the crackers cause at least 30 percent less dust pollution as compared to conventional ones.
The industry's rapid shift to green crackers has led to a spurt in interest among the stakeholders to target the global market, suggested P Ganeshan, President of Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturing Association (TANFAMA), while speaking to IANS.
The industry, according to the report, is also seeking the Centre's intervention to address the challenge involving the supply chain for global exports. The shipping lines are expected to favour the large-volume exports from China, instead of the consignments from Sivakasi which would be smaller.
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