Heavy rain in almost all the States in the country this monsoon season has resulted in water tables going up. For Coimbatore’s pumpset industry, which is one of the largest in the country, it can lead to higher demand for open well pumpsets and a slowdown in the borewell market.
Vice-president of Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association V. Krishna Kumar told The Hindu that except Tamil Nadu all States in the country had had good rainfall this season. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and northern Karnataka had a large number of open wells. Manufacturers, who had a market in these States and make open well pumpsets, would see the demand going up. However, the market could be temporarily dull for those who make borewell pumps.
The annual sale of pumpsets by the industries in Coimbatore was approximately Rs. 3,000 crore. The leading brands were present across the country and the mid-level brands were present in the southern States. The manufacturing industries here were largely into borewell pumps as the market was high for these products. Last year, the units sold a lot of borewell pumps even in Kerala, which was not a borewell market. Majority of the farmers had switched over to borewell pumps in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The demand for open well pumps was good from September to December every year and for borewell pumps, the peak season started in February. The market was usually low in August-September and with good rain, the demand for borewell pumps was likely to see a slowdown. However, it was a temporary phase and in the long-run, the sales would be good, he said.
With regard to exports, Mr. Krishna Kumar said the demand was mainly from African and West Asian countries. However, exports were negligible because of the potential in the domestic market.
