Prices of white goods such as refrigerators, air-conditioners and washing machines are set to go up by 3-4% from January, as manufacturers plan to pass on rising input costs to the consumers, according to a report in moneybhaskar.com. The manufacturers had planned to increase the prices earlier, but didn’t carry out their plans as they had to give siclear pre-GST stock, says the report. The retailers were saddled with unsold inventory from Diwali in November, which they will first clear before sourcing fresh stock at higher prices, says a recent report in The Economic Times. Due to rise in prices of steel and copper, the industry’s input cost in on the rise. Further, a crucial chemical called MDI, which is used to make foams mostly for refrigerators, is facing a global shortage and its price has doubled.
“These three account for almost 70% of input cost and hence there is a net impact of 5-6% on prices. However, we will absorb some and pass on the rest, that too probably in phases, since market sentiments are not very buoyant,” the Economic Times reported Godrej Appliances business head Kamal Nandi as saying. Another source from Videocon told moneybhaskar that the rising dollar and an increase in prices of copper and steel, have put an upward pressure on input costs. Hence, the cost of AC, refrigerator and kitchen appliances may rise by 2-4%.
Earlier, white goods market leader LG Electronics India and rival Samsung, had worked out price hikes on these categories in line with the rest of the industry, the chief of a leading retail chain told economic times. “Prices of four- and five-star ACs are likely to go up further as a new energy efficiency rating, Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER ratings), becomes mandatory from January whereby inverter and lower-priced fixed-speed AC models will be rated on similar guidelines,” the newspaper report had said earlier this month.