The All island Fireworks Association (AIFA) said the 30% price reduction of imported chemicals that are used to manufacture fire crackers in the open market has helped to reduce the prices of products during the forthcoming festive season.
AIFA Chairman Dinesh Fernando told Daily News Business that although the Government made a little tax increase on chemicals in the recent past it had not much affected the prices of chemicals and also on firework products. He said the price reduction is due to the abundance of chemicals in the open market since registered traders have started importing main chemicals such as aluminium powder and potassium nitrate considering the high demand of fireworks during many festivals as well as social occasions.
Meanwhile, the AIFA requested authorized chemical dealers to refrain from selling chemical powder and other raw materials to non-registered firework manufacturers since these chemicals could be used for many other purposes. He also said registered firework manufacturers are mainly engaged in areas such as Kimbulapitiya in Negombo and in Kandy, Galle and Kurunegala districts. According to AIFA nearly 230 registered manufacturers at Kimbulapitiya and other districts produce fire crackers and over 80,000 people living in these areas depend on fire cracker sales during main festive seasons such as the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, Christmas, Vesak, Poson, Deepavali and Thai Pongal.
He therefore made a request from Government authorities to take action against authorized chemical dealers who sell chemicals to non-registered firework manufacturers. The legend says that manufacturing fireworks commenced in ancient Ceylon at Kimbulapitiya during the Portuguese period and it later extended to few other main cities including Kandy, Galle, Kurunegala and Ratnapura.
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