Holi sales up 30% this year, Rs 20,000 crore business took place: CAIT

Trade body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has said that Holi sales in the country shot up by 30 per cent this year as compared to last year as India celebrated the festival of colours without the fear of coronavirus.

The number of COVID-19 cases have been on a decline in the country, with India reporting 2,075 new cases on Saturday.

In a release, CAIT said that this year's Holi sales proved to be a boon for India's retail sector, which has been hit hard by the pandemic. 

"The Holi festival sales registered around a 30 per cent increase in the business compared to last year. According to an estimate, on Holi, business worth about Rs 20,000 crore happened in the country...," the trade body said.

Besides, it said, there was no sale of Chinese goods this year. Earlier, China's exports to India on the festival of Holi stood at about Rs 10,000 crore every year, primarily of colours, toys, balloons, among others.

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"Country made items like herbal colours and gulal, water gun, balloons, chandan, dress material registered a huge sale, while on the other hand sweets, dry fruits, gift items, textiles, flowers and fruits, toys, furnishing fabric, kirana, FMCG products, consumer durables, pooja material etc. also had tremendous sales giving an indication of better days for the trade in the future," CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said.

After witnessing good sales on Holi, traders across the country are gearing up for the upcoming wedding season in April-May which they hope will further help the business, he added.

CAIT claims to represent over 40,000 trade associations and 8 crore traders across the country.

Khandelwal said lakhs of congregational meetings and Holi Milan celebrations were organised in the country this year as India stepped out of the shadows of COVID-19 cases.

In Delhi alone, more than 3,000 Holi get-togethers were held. Apart from this, there were large number of other social programs organised this year and people came out in large numbers, visiting various markets across the country, particularly in the week before the Holi, giving a boost to sales, he said.

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