8th July 2015

- The Hindu

Erratic supply of wax keeps match producers out of race

The safety match manufacturing industry is facing a contraction of paraffin wax, one of the key raw materials for manufacturing wax matches, owing to erratic supply. The unreliable supply has affected the production, according to J. Devadoss, secretary, South India Match Manufacturers Association.

Normally, around three lakh bundles of wax matches could be produced in a month from 140 factories in Kovilpatti, Sattur, Sivakasi and Elayirampannai. But the production had been reduced to 2.60 lakh tonnes. Every factory required a minimum of three tonnes of wax. The stakeholders of this industry had been relying largely on Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited for the required quantity of this key material. But, the supply chain management carried out through the government agency was not catering to the needs of manufacturers, he said on Tuesday.

The unreliable supply of wax had prompted several manufacturers to rely on imports from China, where quality was not up to the mark. As a result, production cost also escalated by 10 per cent. By incurring high production cost, the producers were not able to compete in the market.

Around twenty containers of wax a month was imported. “Around 1,100 grams of wax is required to produce 600 match boxes in a bundle. It costs Rs.340 to produce a bundle,” he said. Though match production was categorised as semi-mechanised, other than frame filling work done with the help of machines, workers were principally involved in box filling, packing and chemical dipping. Besides the shortage, the manufacturers had to bear the labour cost also, he said.