CHENNAI/HYDERABAD: A sharp drop in consumption brought on by demonetisation of old high denomination notes and drought ripping through the hinterlands of southern states, particularly Tamil Nadu, have resulted in harvest festivals in the state and its neighbours -- Andhra Pradesh and Telengana -- lose their sheen for traders.
For Tamil Nadu, this Pongal is seeing sugarcane vendors in particular take a hit. According to traders in Koyambedu, the vegetable and fruits market in Chennai, sugarcane sales have been the lowest in several years. “This is despite the fact that they are trading at half the price. The demand has been low ever since the note ban in November, but we expected things to pick up by now. It has not, people are not buying as much they used to,” said R Baranidharan, a farmer in the city to deliver his stock. A bundle with 20 canes is selling at just around `300. Last year, the rate was `500. But arriving stock are also at record lows across the state -- with only around 450 trucks making it to the market in the city.
With the monsoon deserting the agricultural heartlands once again, yields have fallen drastically. With both demand and yield falling, Pongal income for farmers has been bad. “Procurement rates are just around `150 per bundle with ten canes. Last year, it was more than `200,” said B Raja, an agricultural landlord in Theni district of the state. “Yields are also at record lows,” he added. Other sectors are also taking a beating. Especially those that revolve around festival buying. For small garment traders, this Pongal has been one with little to cheer for. According to a top retailer in Chennai, average ticket size of sales have fallen nearly half.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh’s Sankranti is bringing as little cheer. While drought isn’t that big a problem, the cash crunch brought about by demonetisation is. “Sankranti is celebrated mainly celebrating for the agriculture harvest. But due to demonetisation, farmers didn’t get good prices for their produce. Some farmers have not even been able to sell any of their goods, even for a lower price. Farmers’ incomes have plummeted affecting other sector sales too,” said Vakkalagadda Bhaskara Rao Andhra Pradesh federation of commerce and industry.
Traders say that business has been affected by as much as 40 per cent depending on the business.
“It is a tradition to wear new clothes and many families present new clothes to sons-in-law during Sankranti. Textiles shops are seeing good business, but when compared to Sankranti sales every year, this year’s sales are low,” said Srinivasa Rao, owner of Challapalli and Sons in Vijayawada.