Pumpset sales across the country and in Tamil Nadu have seen a 40% drop in the first three months of the financial year, mainly because of the lockdown.
K.V. Karthik, vice-president of the Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association, told The Hindu that though summer was the peak season for pumpset sales, there were no sales this year in April and during the first two weeks of May. Sales revived thereafter, but remained subdued. “The demand is mainly from the agriculture sector. We are unable to service it because of labour shortage,” he said.
Manpower shortage
Foundries that supply raw materials to pumpset manufacturing units have been hard hit by labour shortage. These factories employed a large number of migrant workers and most of them have returned to their home States. Even in the case of pumpset units, though labourers from Tamil Nadu can be recruited and trained, there are challenges in getting e-passes to bring in workers from other districts to Coimbatore.
In Gujarat, another major pumpset manufacturing hub in the country, inter-district movement is permitted. But workers are all from other States.
Pumpset units in Coimbatore have been operating at just 60% of their capacity because of labour issues and low demand, Mr. Karthik said. “We have been managing since mid-May with the stocks we had. Now we have started fresh production,” he said.
With the onset of monsoon, demand may drop again for the next few months and pick up after the rains stop, he added.
