Manufacturers said prices of shoes, synthetic fibre-based apparel and decorative household paints could also rise by up to 9–10%.Chief executives across sectors said the price hikes could erode some of the sales volume gains from recent GST reductions, but emphasised they have limited options as supply chains have turned increasingly volatile.“A price hike is inevitable,” said Kamal Nandi, head of the appliances business at Godrej Enterprises.“We will increase prices from April, possibly by 5–6%,” said Nandi of Godrej Enterprises, which manufactures refrigerators, washing machines and ACs. Companies are holding back immediate increases as March is an important month before the financial year end to meet sales targets,” he said.The Automotive Component Manufacturers Association ( ACMA ) recently informed the government that imports of key inputs such as chemicals, synthetic rubber, aluminium scrap and petrochemical-based materials like polypropylene are getting delayed along with cost escalations due to shipping disruptions.“While the government and industry are making all efforts, supply chain disruptions are intensifying fast,” said Vinnie Mehta, director general, ACMA. “We may have to consider a second phase of price increases soon.”Harkirat Singh, managing director of shoe brand Woodland India said the company’s suppliers “are asking us to increase prices as they are buying raw materials at significantly higher costs” and that the company could increase prices by 8–12% from April.
Author: Writankar Mukherjee and Sharmistha Mukherjee
Published at: 2026-03-16 00:00:00
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