March 11, 2007	Sunday	Safar 21, 1428

KARACHI, March 10: The electronic market players do not expect to gain much from Karachiites’ passion for the current cricket World Cup season. The fact is evident from the fact that the sale figures of TV sets, which used to surge in the past, have not shown any sign of above average activity in this sector, a market survey by Dawn confirmed. The 2007 cricket World Cup kicked off from Tuesday.

The TV sales, however, have yet to pick up momentum as manufacturers forecast normal sales. During the last World Cup in 2003 TV sales experienced a major boost.

Manufacturers do not see any extra-buying in March when Pakistan meets West Indies in the World Cup opener on March 13. They have not made any special arrangements to meet any extra demand although they had to procure extra parts and kits in the 2003 cricket feast to meet the rising demand.

In the last few days, many manufacturers have rolled out various gift schemes on purchase of color TV sets and also on plasma and LCD TVs for the current World Cup. They have displayed banners outside their showrooms to lure buyers.

Surprisingly, the prices of all the TV sets, LCD and Plasma, have fallen in the last few years because of intense market competition among the local assemblers besides, induction of cheap parts. Many dealers are offering TV at wholesale rates but the market still lacks buying euphoria.

“There is no significant demand. We have not increased the production yet for the World Cup buying,” Chairman Pakistan Electronic Manufacturers Association (Pema) Sarfarazuddin said while recalling increase in sale of TV sets in the last cricket bonanza. However, he said that manufacturers were losing their sales especially in 21-inch and 14-inch segments owing to the availability of computer monitor TV sets available at cheap prices.

Many market players are doing a roaring business by purchasing the old computer monitors. They maintain the picture tube and install new Chinese kits to make it a complete TV. The 14-inch set is priced at Rs3,000 while 17-inch can be purchased at Rs3,500.

Because of influx of these cheaper sets around nine TV units have packed off their production facility in the last one and a half years in Sindh and Punjab, he said.

Vice-Chairman Pema Haroon Niazi told Dawn from Lahore that TV sales in the last World Cup had surged by 30-40 per cent but it went down when the Pakistani team returned home in the first week of March after playing its six matches of the pool.

“Till today we have neither geared up any production nor have any plans for extra production of TV sets,” he said adding that manufacturers are doing their normal production.

“Change in the market should come but surprisingly everything is going at a normal pace,” he said while recalling that during the peak marriage season in the last few months there was no extra demand of TV.

He said that 50-60 per cent of the market is held by 14-inch TV sets being purchased by lower and middle income group, while the rest of the market share is divided between 21-inch normal and flat screen to Plasma, LCD, etc.

“Perhaps buying power of the people, who buy 14-inch TV sets, has been curtailed owing to the price hike in essential items or they have shifted towards the computer monitor TV because of price difference with locally assembled TV sets,” Haroon said.

He said that plasma, LCD TVs are being smuggled from Dubai while there is no significant arrival of 21-inch TVs through informal channels.

TV production in Pakistan stood at 966,000 units in 2005-06 compared to 908,079 units in 2004-05. In 2003-04 and 2002-03, production of TV was 843,079 units and 764,612 units, respectively.

PEMA chairman said that production may hover between 800,000-850,000 units in 2006-07 which is below the last fiscal as cheap computer monitor TVs are giving tough time.

On the contrary, former vice-chairman Pakistan Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers Association (Peema) Parvaiz Alam Khan said so far it seems that the cricket fever is yet to grip the public that is why their presence in the market has been thin prior to World Cup.

However, he anticipated that the sale of 14-inch TV is likely to pick up as people working in companies, private offices, shops etc, will buy on the eve of the event.