The bat makers in Kashmir are eagerly waiting for the GI Tag.
The Kashmir Willow Cricket Bats are famous across the world. And now the government is in process of getting a GI (Geographical Indication ) tag for Kashmiri Bats. A recent study shows that it will serve as a great marketing strategy for selling these bats in international markets.
The GI Tagging will also help in increasing the prices of the Kashmir Willow Bats. A study was released recently by the Finance Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman called "Indian Sports Goods Industry: Strategies for Tapping the Export Potential". As there are no registered GIs in the sports goods industry in India. The study revealed that "Kashmir willow bat is one such product, which holds significance as it is made from some of the best quality wood in the world,".
The bat makers in Kashmir are eagerly waiting for the GI Tag. ''It's a good step by the government and we have been expecting it. The government is helping the small scale industries at the moment and due to this Kashmir willow will get the recognition it deserves. The English willow is considered good but the Kashmir willow is as good. And if we get the tagging it would help us. The top-grade willow bats are good and need to be promoted as much. If we have GI Tag, the sales will go up.'' said Asif Majeed Parray, Owner M S Bat Factory.
There are more than 200 Bat making factories in Kashmir and hundreds of people earning their livelihoods. Covid had hit the industry badly as they hardly had any new orders but now the makers are hoping that things will change after GI Tagging.
''If the government takes this step, the GI tag will benefit us a lot, it would be great for us. The maximum number of bats are made in Kashmir. Now with the tagging, we can send our bats across every country. We can sell online with the tag and earn customer trust. We make more than 2 lac bats every month in Kashmir in around 200 factories. It will be our honour to make bats that will be picked by international players. Our bats have recently been taken by two specially-abled Kashmiris who are selected in the Indian team to play in an ODI in Bangladesh. '' said Javaid Ahmad, MJS Bat Factory Owner.
The Kashmir willow bats fetch a maximum of Rs 3,500 rupees per bat, as against the English willow bats whose retail price range is between $220 to $450 per bat in the international markets.
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