Holi 2024: Over Rs 50,000 Crore Business Expected This Year, Says CAIT
This year’s Holi festival is expected to generate business worth over Rs 50,000 crore for traders, up by nearly 50 per cent from the previous year, said the traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Friday.
Business in Delhi alone is expected to be worth around Rs 5,000 crore as traders across the country continue to boycott Chinese goods. “The import of Holi-related items in the country is approximately 10 thousand crore rupees, which was negligible this year,” said CAIT.
“Only herbal colors, gulal, water guns, balloons, sandalwood, puja items, clothing, and other items made in India are being sold in abundance. Additionally, there is a huge demand for sweets, dry fruits, gift items, flowers and fruits, clothes, furnishing fabrics, groceries, FMCG products, consumer durables, and various other products in the markets,” said Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, CAIT.
According to the traders’ body, the demand for chemical-free colors, herbal colors, abir, and gulal is more compared to artificial colors while demand for balloons and water guns is higher than previous years.
“It is estimated that there will be record-breaking sales for traders on Saturday and the following Sunday. Pressure guns are available from Rs 100 to Rs 350, while tank-shaped water guns are available from Rs 100 to Rs 400. Besides, there is a craze for fancy pipes in the market,” said CAIT.
Last year, as per CAIT, Holi sales stood at around Rs 25,000 crore, up by approximately 25 per cent from the preceding year’s sales with Delhi alone witnessing around Rs 1,500 crore worth of business.
Apart from Holi, CAIT expects the ongoing wedding season in the country, which would likely last till mid-July with approximately 42 lakh weddings, is expected to see business worth Rs 5.5 lakh crore through wedding-related purchases and services.
According to Khandelwal, more than 4 lakh weddings are expected to take place in Delhi itself, generating around Rs 1.5 lakh crore in business revenue. Last year, around 35 lakh weddings took place during the wedding season ending on December 14, with expenses estimated at Rs 4.25 lakh crore.