The Indian government has banned the import and sale of internet-connected CCTV cameras from China. This move has significantly impacted Hyderabad city’s surveillance device market. Traders and installers have reported immediate upsets in consumer behaviour, pricing, and supply.
Impact on wholesale markets
In famous wholesale hubs like Chenoy Trade Centre (CTC) in Secunderabad and Gujarati Galli in Koti, the effects of the ban are already visible: unsold stock, lower volumes, and price surge in non-Chinese devices.
Om Singh, a local businessman, has been running Kimpex Security Solutions for 14 years. He has called the ban ‘sudden’ and the transition ‘blunt’. According to The Hindu’s reporting, “Before the ban, we had 20 to 25 brands. Now we are left with only one. Customers have reduced significantly because rates have increased a lot and they are not satisfied with the quality.”
The scale of the drop
Om used to sell between 2,000 and 3,000 cameras every month for each of the brands, including Hikvision, TP-Link, and Dahua Technology. In total, he sold ₹30–40 lakh worth of shares each month. Om currently has stock that is worth between ₹15 and ₹20 lakh. He is worried about the sale of this remaining stock.
In the market, local traders say prices of Indian brands have surged by 10-30% since April 1. Cameras previously priced at ₹25k are now available for ₹ 27,000-32,000 or higher.
Another trader, Bhavesh, has been running Jeevraj CCTV for a decade. He says the change in demand is clear but also confusing. Indian brands are in high demand, especially CP Plus. However, businesses have increased prices for associated equipment and IT cameras. Sales and customer numbers have decreased due to the price increase.
Disruption, supplies, sales
Traders believe the situation is not sudden and has been building up over time. Over the past year, traders have not received significant supplies of these cameras. Shops sold whatever Chinese stock they had before March 31 so that it could be billed for GST, before the new financial year. Therefore, the ban didn’t significantly impact the markets as traders were left with a small number of Chinese stocks.
For installers and system integrators designing and executing surveillance setups, the impact is more optional. One system integration expert said the sudden rise in demand for Indian brands has resulted in supply bottlenecks. Clients are now demanding ‘Make in India’ products, and stock for Indian cameras is not ready for the current demand. Installers are facing pressure.
