China stands to incur losses totalling Rs 1 lakh crore this Diwali. Here’s why

CAIT general secretary urges buyers to support small businesses, women entrepreneurs

Consumer trends suggest a strong preference for Made in India products with the “vocal for local” echoes growing louder in the nation. This is likely to contribute to China incurring losses amounting to Rs 1 lakh crore this Diwali, according to a ANI report. China is poised to lose around Rs 1 lakh crore in business related to Diwali festival items, it said.

Dhanteras, a crucial part of Diwali celebrations dedicated to worshipping the gods and goddesses of wealth, is also an important day for traders across the nation as it is considered an auspicious day for making new acquisitions, especially metals. The National President of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal have predicted an estimated trade volume of Rs 50,000 crore on Dhanteras.

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To ensure local women entrepreneurs also benefit during this time, Khandelwal wrote on social media platform X: “We wholeheartedly support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Vocal For Local’ this Diwali, along with the appeal ‘Naari Se Kharidaari’ by Union Minister Smriti Irani. We are opening the doors of the nation's market to all women entrepreneurs, from those crafting small diyas (earthen lamps) to those managing boutiques. We urge you to shop from women entrepreneurs and visit their establishments.”

One must note here, that India has been surpassing China via-a-vis trade volume in other sectors also. As per the latest report on global manufacturing trends published by the Boston Consulting Group, “Mexico, Southeast Asia and India are quickly emerging as future export manufacturing powerhouses. All three offer competitive cost structures, deep pools of labour and growing scale and capabilities across diverse industries. India has the additional benefit of possessing a potentially enormous domestic market.”

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“Although India is just starting to emerge as a major exporter, it has a broad manufacturing base that supplies everything from electric vehicles and heavy machinery to chemicals and appliances for its domestic market,” it added.

According to the 2023 BCG report, semiconductor and material shipments from India to the United States have surged by 143 percent, while shipments from China have decreased by 29 percent during the same period.