Boycott call may impact Chinese exports worth USD 17 bn

    Kolkata, Jun 19 (PTI) The nationwide clamour for
boycott of Chinese goods is getting louder amid the Ladakh
face-off, with traders urging the Centre to direct e-commerce
firms to restrict the sale of items from the Dragonland, which
imports products worth USD 74 billion to India annually.
    Of the total import from China, retail traders sell
goods worth around USD 17 billion, mostly comprising toys,
household items, mobiles, electric and electronic goods and
cosmetics among other things, which could possibly be replaced
by Indian products, a national trading body said.
    "We, at 'Federation of All India Vyapar Mandal', are
advising our members to clear their stocks of Chinese products
and refrain from placing fresh orders. We are also requesting
the government to restrict e-commerce companies from selling
Chinese products," V K Bansal, the association's general
secretary, told PTI.
    Sushil Poddar, the president of the Confederation of
West Bengal Traders Association, said its members have been
told to shun trading in Chinese goods as much as possible.
    Another national traders' body, The Confederation of
All India Traders (CAIT), has decided to step up its movement
against the boycott of Chinese goods, under its campaign
'Bhartiya Samaan-Hamara Abhimaan'.
    It released a list of over 450 broad categories of
commodities, comprising 3,000 Chinese products.
    CAIT has also written an open letter to several
celebrities, asking them to stop endorsing made-in China
products. PTI BSM
RMS RMS

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)