Bicycle prices shoot up due to rise in steel rates

Imported and local bicycles' sale amid peak buying season could not reach 100 percent mark and remained at least by 50 down due to its high prices in the wake of soaring steel and raw material prices across the world.
Vendors at the largest bicycle market-Lighthouse on Monday said that normally June and July are considered the peak-buying season of bicycle because children have school vacations making their parents purchase a two-wheeler for them. They added, due to increasing steel prices had given rise to cost of bicycle production, and put a negative impact on its sale by about 50 percent.
"Now a days children's addiction to computer games have also confined them to indoor activities, relinquishing bicycle riding hobbies by and large," they observed.
According to them, the continuous electricity load shedding in the city have also resulted in the decline of bicycle sale while demand remains below normal during current season, however three years ago situation was better.
An average imported bicycle from China for kids is being sold in the range of Rs 2000 to Rs 3,500 whereas locally manufactured one of a similar quality is about Rs 400 expensive comparatively, they apprised.
Chinese bicycles are more improved pertaining to their accessories, look, designs and durability, they said and added that local ones were more expensive and lacking additional accessories.
They said big size of locally made bicycle was being tagged in the range of Rs 3,500 to Rs 4000, whereas Chinese two-wheelers were available in the range of Rs 3,200 to 3,500.
There is no such difference in terms of quality, both the imported and locally made bicycles contain a similar kind of Chinese accessories, therefore, their durability is alike, they added.
They said Chinese ones were rather inexpensive and having various designs, size, and were comfortable than local items. The other reason behind price hike of bicycles no matter imported and local ones, they held the soaring prices of rubber responsible, saying that such move had given rise to prices of the bicycle's tyres making them further expensive.
A normal kind of a bicycle tyre was available in the range of Rs 80 to Rs 100 and a good quality one is available in the range of Rs 100 to Rs 150, mainly depending on its quality of rubber of tyres, they added.
Local bicycle producing industries have almost shut down due to increasing cost of production, according to them. They said that all bicycle-manufacturing industries were in Lahore, however only one of several such industries had left to produce standard bicycles to compete Chines ones.
They said that Pakistan was also exporting bicycles to African states, besides Afghanistan and Iran in the region and their demand was still high. Chinese products, they pointed out, had flooded the local market by 95 percent, whereas local products failed to attract the public.
To a question, they responded that the once bicycle producers now had turned importers of Chinese bicycles and were supplying them to local vendors across the country.