KARACHI, Dec 3: The meteoric rise in prices coupled with poor law and order situation has marred the sale of deep freezers and refrigerators in this peak season of demand on the occasion of Eidul Azha, which is just four days away.

However, the sale of Eid-related items like children garments, shoes, gents and ladies wear, etc., showed some improvement as people came out on Wednesday after tense situation during the last four days.

President Karachi Tajir Action Committee (KTAC) Siddiq Memon said that the markets were now witnessing presence of buyers for Eid, Christmas and winter-related items. “So far the sales have been going normal. It may boost further in case the law and order situation remains normal,” he added.

Buying of deep freezers is directly linked to the sale of sacrificial animals, which hit the bottom from Saturday to Tuesday after reports of snatching of animals and cash and killing of people in indiscriminate firing on way returning home from the Super Highway Mandi, the city’s main hub of sacrificial animals.

However, animals buying witnessed some improvement on Wednesday, but still it lacks the enthusiasm which usually heated up in the last days before the Eid.

Despite the fact that prices of raw materials (steel, plastic, aluminium, copper, silver, etc.) used in making home appliances have fallen sharply in the last few months, but its impact is yet to be seen in the shape of price cuts.

The declining diesel price has already slashed the transportation cost and the rupee has improved against the dollar making imports of raw materials cheaper.

Many consumers were anticipating a cut from the local industry on the occasion of Eidul Azha.

Mohammad Rashid, salesman at a home appliances shop in Saddar, told Dawn that 50 per cent less people turned out when compared with the rush in the same season last year. “We used to become busy just one month before Eidul Azha, but the situation is totally reversed,” he added.

Deep freezer which was selling at Rs17,000-Rs18,000 six months back, is now priced at Rs22,000-24,000, while a small deep freezer now costs Rs19,000 as compared to Rs14,000. Same is the case with the refrigerators.

Mohammad Rizwan of Rizwan Electronics was of the view that sales had plunged by 70-80 per cent as compared to last year. “The rising cost of living has forced people to first procure sacrificial animals and are least bothered about purchasing deep freezers,” he added.

He recalled that three years back the main Abdullah Haroon Road used to witness traffic jams due to rush of buyers and the shopkeepers had to sit even after 11.00pm. “But this hustle and bustle has lost,” he moaned.

A maker of home appliances, who asked not to be named, tried to twist the market reality of bottoming sales by claiming that sales had dropped by 20-25 per cent over the last year’s figure. However, he reckoned that “the deep freezer market lacks any major activity this year,” he said.

Because of the winter season, the industry usually sees this period as an off season. The home appliances industry mainly relies on the sale of these items from March to June.

He said the country produced 150,000-175,000 deep freezers and one million refrigerators annually and added that the sale of these items depended on the economic conditions, which so far are not good.

The economic slowdown has taken its toll on the appliances’ industry forcing it to adopt cost-cutting measures coupled with steps to reduce production by 25-35 per cent in view of sliding demand.

The companies have already initiated downsizing of workforce to overcome losses.