Gujarat's ceramic tiles hub to take month-long break after production glut

'Leave' in August could be annual feature and will follow Chinese industry taking a break every February

India's largest ceramic tiles manufacturing cluster in Morbi, Gujarat, will shut for a month in August as it predicts demand falling after enhanced capacity created a glut.

Except for the lockdowns two years ago to contain Covid-19, the industry rarely shuts down production completely. It now plans to make the month-long "leave" an annual feature, similar to China's ceramic industry taking a break every February.

"On one hand, the domestic construction activity has slowed down since the last 4-6 months due to rising input costs led by cement and steel prices. On the other hand, newer units with enhanced