However, Yamaha outboard motors are imported into India by their sole agents George Maijo, who insist that all Yamaha engines must be repaired by them. They will not sell spare parts, preventing local mechanics from repairing Yamaha engines. Service centres are set up in areas where there is a sufficiently high number of engines to make them profitable. A fisherman whose boat breaks down in a fishing village will usually lose one day s work transporting the engine to the service centre, even for the simplest of repairs or replacements. He could lose up to a week s work if the job is more complex and he has to leave the engine at the centre.
Engines invariably break down at the busiest season - when they are being most used.
Yamaha s monopoly is fertile ground for abuse. Yamaha s use of a sole agent seems to be a clear case of unfair trading. A project called Womenwealth has recently started in the UK to promote women s crafts in order to provide income for their Third World producers. Improving the low status of village producers calls for direct access to markets. Womenwealth, a charity, was founded with the aim of reducing poverty by improving the earning capacity of rural women handcraft producers.