The All-India Council of Associations (AICA), representing micro, small, medium enterprises (MSME), has called for the closure of all industrial units across the country for a day on December 20 and the staging of demonstrations in all districts to protest against the rising prices of raw materials, a statement issued by the AICA said on Tuesday, December 14.
The AICA said that raw material prices were surging “for no reason” and added that several representations made to the central government seeking intervention in cooling down prices had elicited no response.
Providing a comparison between escalating prices between April 2020 and October 2021, the AICA said that mild steel plate prices had increased by 82.22 percent, aluminum alloy prices by 154.72 percent, copper prices by 119.44 percent, cold rolled coil (CRC) by 95.96 percent, pig iron by 37.50 percent and MS scrap prices by 81.82 percent.
In a representation to the government, the AICA has sought protection from the escalation of steel product prices for a period of one year.