Import restrictions on agarbatti helped in promoting domestic manufacturing: Goyal

Imposition of import restrictions on agarbatti has helped in promoting domestic manufacturing of these incense sticks at large scale, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. The restrictions on imports helped in promoting manufacturing at large scale.

Imposition of import restrictions on agarbatti has helped in promoting domestic manufacturing of these incense sticks at large scale, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said on Tuesday. In August 2019, the government put curbs on imports of agarbatti and other similar products amid reports of significant increase in inbound shipments from countries like China and Vietnam. Importers of these goods require a licence from the government. ''The restrictions on imports helped in promoting manufacturing at large scale. Going forward, we can increase farming of agarwoods and then we can stop its imports also and become self-reliant in this sector,'' Goyal said at a buyer-seller meet on agarwood products of Tripura. Global trade of agarwood chips and its products is estimated at about USD 30 billion. He also said a scheme was formulated for increasing rubber plantation with the help of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA).