Demonetisation woes mounting

Trading activity drastically dropped at the Rajiv Gandhi wholesale vegetable and wholesale flower market in one town due to the impact of demonitisation over the last eight days. The vegetables traders are not willing to take loads of vegetable stocks from farmers or middlemen due to the cash crunch.

Scrapping of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 denomination notes had severely affected the business. The wholesale traders are not able to pay cash of Rs100 denomination notes to the farmers and middlemen, who bring stocks from different parts of the State. Consequently all transactions are declining rapidly. More than 60 wholesale vegetables shops and 80 wholesale flowers shops are located in the market.

Rajiv Gandhi wholesale vegetable market is the biggest supplier of vegetable to the hundreds of hotels and restaurants in the city. K Koteswara Rao, a wholesale trader in the Wholesale vegetables market said on Thursday that the trading activity drastically dropped in the market due to the cash crises.

‘We are facing many problems to pay money to the farmers who bring vegetables to the market and daily wages to the workers. He mentioned that the number of customers who come to the market for purchase of vegetables drastically declined in the last one week. If the trading activity declines, then the prices of vegetables may shoot up in the city.

The city is heavily depending on other districts and states for potatoes, tomatoes, beetroot, carrot, cabbage and many other vegitables. R Siva a trader said most of the business is being done on credit and mutual trust due to lack of small denomination notes. “All traders, both wholesalers and retailers, know the problems being faced by the country due to cash crunch. The traders are not insisting for payments of cash immediatel,” he said.

He added that the vegetables business is very risky business because the traders can’t keep the stocks in the shops are godowns for many days. “Except onions and lemons, most of the vegetables will either dry up or get rotten if kept in our godowns for many days,” he quipped.

The wholesale traders are not able to pay transportation charges to the truck drivers or trolley drivers. Sometimes the traders are accepting the old notes due to unavoidable circumstances. “If we reject all old notes of Rs.500 and Rs.1000 denomination, how we can sustain in the market?” questioned another trader.

Due to cash crunch, business of hotels and restaurants also declined in the city. M Sivareddy a flower merchant said, “Flowers are basically perishable and they must be sold within a day or two at any cost. If we fail to sell the flowers in a day or two it will be dried up or lose its freshness. Due to unavoidable circumstances we are doing business.”

By MD Ameen