Cooling appliances’ demand surges ahead of Eidul Azha
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KARACHI: The lament of rising cost of living notwithstanding, the sale of appliances like refrigerators and deep freezers has picked up in the run-up to Eidul Azha. Although peak summer is creating extra demand for cooling gadgets, dealers claim that prices remain the same as of last year. Sohail Malik, finance secretary of the Karachi Electronic Dealers Association (KEDA), told Dawn that “the sales of fridge and deep freezers have been 25-30 per cent higher during this Eid season than last year, while the number of ACs sold shows no big difference”. To avoid any risk of losing a sizable quantity of meat, many families are buying new cooling appliances, he said. Consumers usually keep Qurbani meat frozen for at least two to three months. Sale of refrigerators, deep freezers jumps by a quarter Before the sighting of Eidul Azha moon, airconditioner was the appliance most in demand, but after the sighting of Eidul Azha moon, consumers’ focus has shifted towards fridge and deep freezers, Sohail Malik pointed out. Because of the huge demand, shopkeepers keep their shutters open till 1.30am, while consumers usually start heading to the market in the evening, Malik said. “Despite the big demand, markets are not facing any shortage of home appliances as dealers and manufacturers also have last year’s carryforward stock,” he said. Manufacturers had already imported a sizable quantity of parts and kits for assembling locally, while rupee-dollar stability in the interbank market had also kept the cost of manufacture under control, he added. Average life Gone are the days when cooling appliances had a long life. According to Pak Elektron, the average life of a fridge and an air conditioner is now 10 years and six years, respectively. According to a manufacturer, the total market size of appliances is estimated at Rs328 billion. According to a BMA research report, PAEL is the third largest player in the country’s appliance industry after Haier and Dawlance. The company holds a 1