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The Granite Business Is In Grave Trouble Due To Falling Exports And Increased Expenses

Falling export orders from China, as well as rising production costs and transportation costs, have forced granite polishing and cutting plants in Prakasam to shut their doors. Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy met with district Granite Industries Association representatives to convey their decision, however they agreed to postpone the shutdown date from November 15 to November 20, as he promised to bring the issues to the attention of the Chief Minister for remedial measures. 

At Chimakurthy, Ballikurava, Addanki, Gurijepalli, Santhanuthalapadu, Martur, Gullapalli Growth Centre, and other locations in the district, there are over 2,000 granite polishing and cutting industries employing nearly 50,000 people. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, merchants from other nations, such as China, are not placing stone orders with quarries. 

Meanwhile, rising fuel prices have increased the expense of transportation, while higher royalties have become a burden for them. The cost of transportation from Chimakurthi to the growth centre climbed from Rs 6,500 to Rs 8,500, according to Mandava Ratnakar Rao, head of the Gullapalli Growth Centre Granite Industries Owners' Association. The government also hiked the royalty per cubic metre from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,200, according to him. These costs are increasing the operational costs, while exporters are lowering the end product price by citing the increase in ocean freight when the Adani group purchased Krishnapatnam port. 

According to him, the cost of shipping a container load from India to Vietnam has climbed from $700 to $2,100. Aside from all of this, he also mentioned that industries are suffering from increasing electricity costs. He stated that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has failed to carry out his pledge to them during his padayatra in Prakasam district to reduce power charges by Rs 3.50 per unit. 

He predicted that if the government could make a favourable decision, the production cost would drop from Rs 8 to Rs 4 per square foot. The granite industry is urging the government to lower energy rates and adopt the slab rate system used in Telangana. Officials requested in previous discussions with the government that a slab fee of Rs 24,000 per blade be introduced to cut 16 cubic metres of granite stone. However, the owners of the businesses claimed that they would lose money and requested that the price be set between Rs 15,000 and Rs 18,000 depending on the number of blades in the industry. 

Minister Balineni Srinivasa Reddy was informed by Kristipati Sekhar Reddy, the head of the Prakasam district Granite Industries Association, that the polishing and cutting operations are set to close down on Monday. The Minister invited the heads of the associations to speak with thm about the issues. He stated that their demands will be brought to the Chief Minister's attention at the Cabinet meeting on November 17 and requested them to postpone the closure decision. Sekhar Reddy declared that, in order to maintain faith in Minister Srinivasa Reddy, the shutdown will be postponed for the time being, and a decision will be made on November 20 depending on the government's decision.

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