Consumer electronics manufacturers on Thursday said that the prolonged Russia-Ukraine war and China lockdowns will result in a significant price hike in the prices of electronic goods by up to 7-10 per cent next month.
Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO of Super Plastronics Pvt. Ltd, an exclusive brand licensee of Thomson, said that there has been a double impact on the industry by the Russia-Ukraine war and lockdowns in China.
"This is an alarming situation for the industry as there is a price increase in commodities like metal and petroleum. As a result, there will be an impact of 7-10 per cent (in prices of electronic goods) next month," Marwah told IANS.
Smartphones, laptops, TVs, ACs as well as imported watches are set to get costlier in the next few weeks.
Industry experts said prices of these consumer goods could go up to 10 per cent.
According to Anand Dubey, CEO, Indkal Technologies Pvt. Ltd, they expect a significant impact if this is a prolonged war between Russia and Ukraine.
"They are the largest producers of some key minerals used as raw materials for manufacturing of chips. Chips have already been in shortage through the last 12 months and this further compounds the problem," Dubey told IANS.
All of this is definitely going to drive the price up of all types of electronics and appliances by varying degrees, he added.
"Even though we are taking measures to counter these issues, I think as an industry and as customers, we should brace ourselves for a premium we will have to pay in the near future," Dubey noted.
The electronics sector has already been raising prices by 2-3 per cent every quarter owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
With supply chain disruptions, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have also been forced to increase the prices of daily-use products.