The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is giving sleepless nights to industrious granite businesses from Prakasam district, who have been hoping without hope to witness a recovery in their fortunes in 2022, following the COVID-induced economic disaster. The district’s vast range of granite blocks, particularly the black galaxy granite found in Chimakurthy, attracts international players. The epidemic has resulted in a tenfold spike in maritime freight prices, as well as a severe shortage of containers, making life difficult for them. Exports to China and other countries have suffered a significant setback. As a result, granite barons have been unable to transport 3,500 to 4,000 container loads of quarried material from their quarries.
Adding to their woes is the skyrocketing price of commercial diesel used by the granite units. They fear that the fuel cost may go up further in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine crisis adding further to the cost of production at a time when they need to cut costs to stay competitive in the global market. The granite units in Chimakurthy have no idea how to conduct their businesses because demand for imported construction materials from China and other countries has decreased dramatically as a result of the logistics bottleneck. Because demand for processed granite slabs has decreased as shipping lines have raised freight prices, Chinese enterprises that previously procured all granite material are now selective in their purchases of building stone material.
