New Delhi, Aug 20 : The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) expects festive sales of over Rs 4 lakh crore due to the extended period of the festival season this year which began with Raksha Bandhan on August 19 and will extend to November 15 on the day of Tulsi Vivah.

'This year's festive series began with Raksha Bandhan and will continue through Janmashtami, the 10-day Ganesh Utsav, Navratri, Durga Puja, Dussehra, Karva Chauth, Dhanteras, Diwali, Govardhan Puja, Bhai Dooj, Chhath Puja, and other festivals, culminating with Tulsi Vivah.

'During this festive period, the business community across the country is fully prepared to meet consumer demands, and traders have stocked up adequately on all products,' a CAIT representative said.

Raksha Bandhan sales alone were expected to surpass the Rs 12,000 crore mark across the country given the massive rush in the markets during the day on Monday.

The trade body stated that customers preferred to buy indigenous Rakhis over Chinese Rakhis this year also.

'For several years now, only indigenous Rakhis have been sold in the country, and this year too, there was neither demand for nor any presence of Chinese Rakhis in the market,' according to a CAIT statement.

Praveen Khandelwal, CAIT's National General Secretary and Member of Parliament from Chandni Chowk stated that business generated during Rakhi was expected to touch Rs 12,000 crore, compared to last year's trade of approximately Rs 10,000 crore.

In 2022, the business was around Rs 7,000 crore, in 2021 it had touched Rs 6,000 crore, in 2020 it was Rs 5,000 crore, in 2019 it was Rs 3,500 crore, and in 2018 it was Rs 3,000 crore, as per Khandelwal.

Khandelwal and CAIT's National President, BC Bhartia, mentioned that this year many of the Rakhis sold had a special feature as they were made out of famous products of various cities in the country.

For instance, this year saw high demand for Khadi Rakhi made in Nagpur, jute Rakhi from Kolkata, silk Rakhi from Mumbai, date Rakhi from Kerala, pearl Rakhi from Kanpur, Madhubani and Maithili Art Rakhi from Bihar, soft stone Rakhi from Pondicherry, flower Rakhi from Bengaluru, Sanganeri Art Rakhi from Jaipur, seed Rakhi from Pune, woolen Rakhi from Satna in Madhya Pradesh, bamboo Rakhi made from tribal items and tea leaf Rakhi from Assam.

/IANS