Diwali festive sale breaks 10-year record at Rs 1.25 trillion: CAIT

Representative Image (Source: AP)

After a year of mellow Diwali celebrations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, revellers thronged markets for festival purchases this year, helping generate business worth Rs 1.25 trillion. According to the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), this trade figure broke the past 10 year’s sale record on Diwali, Business Standard reported.

The trader’s body that represents nearly 70 million traders, said the incredible Diwali 2021 sale ended the economic slowdown that had persisted for the last two years.

Encouraged by the unprecedented Diwali business, traders are now bracing themselves for the wedding season that is set to start on November 14, CAIT added.

CAIT National President BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said: “In this year’s Diwali festival, there is an estimated business of about Rs 1.25 lakh crore rupees in the entire country which is a record figure ever attained in the last decade. In Delhi alone, this business was about Rs 25,000 crore.”

They added that this time no Chinese goods were sold and customers emphasised buying made in India goods. Due to this buying trend, China suffered a loss of business amounting to over Rs 50,000 crore.

As per CAIT, traditional Diwali items were in high demand such as earthen lamps, paper mache lamps, candles, etc., which brought in substantial business to Indian craftsmen. Some other products that saw high demand were home décor, sweets, dry fruits, clothing, footwear, watches, and toys.

As for gold jewellery and silverware, sales worth Rs 9,000 crore were made during Diwali 2021. Additionally, packaging commodities worth Rs 15,000 crore were sold this year.