Reek of explosives in West Asia chokes exports of fragrant 'ittar' perfumes from Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal: The war in West Asia has hit hard the exporters of traditional 'ittar' perfumes in Madhya Pradesh, with large orders getting cancelled and supply of glass bottles getting affected.

"The situation is bad, because the cancellation of export orders has led to accumulation of stocks. The demand is usually high in the holy month of Ramadan, but we are staring at a major loss this time," said Syed Mohammad Altmash Jalal of the House of Hairat Perfumes, speaking to PTI on Friday.

Natural perfumes like rose and 'oud' of Kannauj are in great demand in foreign markets in this season, but the ongoing conflict between the US, Israel and Iran has severely affected business, he said.

"We are also dealing with a rise in the prices of glass bottles for perfumes which are made in Gujarat. These factories rely on gas (LPG) for fuel, and it is not available easily right now," Jalal added.

The shortage of glass bottles, the "most important" part of the ittar business, is going to create serious problems in the coming days if the situation is prolonged, he said.

Most of the manufacturing units from where they purchase ittar and other perfumes are in Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, Jalal said.

Another headache for perfume exporters is the falling rupee against the US dollar (Rs 92-93 as of Friday) as it increases the cost of raw material including bottles purchased from foreign countries like China, he said.

Abdul Mughis Faruqui of Newman Associates, who has roots in Kannauj and has come out with his own perfume brand 'Orrisca', said, "If the situation persists for a long time, it will definitely hit my start-up hard, as we are in the final stages of launching our ethnic product."

Shailendra Pathak of Indore-based Shivam Formulations, manufacturer of air freshners and body perfumes, said there will be a more serious problem if there is a shortage of raw material, which could happen if the situation in West Asia does not return to normal soon.