RAM prices in the country have been recording a steady fall for the past
three months. Currently, the price of 128 MB SDRAM is fluctuating between Rs
1,000-1,200; while those of 256 MB SDRAM range between Rs 1,600-1,800.
Interestingly, the prices are stable abroad but they have been on a decline
in India in the JAS quarter. Sources says this trend could be a result of
dealers trying to liquidate the excess stocks of SDRAM.
Sathya Prashad, MD, VanPac Systems informs that 128 MB SDRAMs were priced at
Rs 1,900 three months ago, which is today sold at an average price of Rs 1,000.
"Even 256 MB SDRAM, which was available at Rs 3,000 last quarter is being
sold in the range of Rs 1,600-1,700," says Sanath Babu, MD, Memory Place.
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The price-drops are favored by the technology trends prevailing in the memory
business. The demand pattern has been triggered by the introduction of newer
motherboards, which gives better performance with larger memory modules. Also
the introduction of Windows XP, which requires higher memory (at least 128 MB)
for optimum performance, has stimulated the demand shift. Currently, 128 MB
memory has become the entry-level. The introduction of DDR RAM too is turning
out to be a big reason behind the drop in prices.
Presently, DDR RAMs are sold at the same price as that of SDRAMs three months
ago. A 128 MB DDR RAM costs Rs 1,800 while the 256 MB costs Rs 3,200. "Even
DDR RAM prices have recorded a drop of 10-15 percent over the last few
months," says Kishore Jeswani, Director, Pacific Infotech. Market sources
feel that the growing popularity and price drop in DDR RAM may help it overtake
the demand for SDRAMs.
The price drops had an adverse effect on the market with margins earned by
assemblers going down by Rs 400-700 on assembled PCs. Margins earned by
resellers and local memory distributors have also shrunk by 20 percent during
the past three months.
SUNILA PAUL
With inputs from GOLDIE in Mumbai