CHENNAI: Prices of essential commodities like pulses, garlic and palm oil have shot up steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and traders have warned that there won't be any respite till Deepavali.
Traders in the Koyambedu foodgrain market, which opened after a gap of four months, say that the wholesale price of pulses has gone up by 10 to 20 per cent. "The prices of pulses have gone up by Rs 10 to Rs 20," says Koyambedu Foodgrains Association president D Manivannan.
Manivannan, who has been rearranging his shop in the foodgrain market, said that palm oil prices have also nearly doubled. "The 15 litre tin which was being sold at Rs 850 prior to the pandemic is being sold at around Rs 2000," he says.
K S Ganesh of Sruti Enterprises told The New Indian Express that prices of garlic have shot up by Rs 10 and will further increase due to shortage of arrivals following COVID restrictions in Madhya Pradesh. "We are not getting enough garlic from Madhya Pradesh," he says. Meanwhile, garlic in retail shops is being sold at over Rs 200 and in some places as high as Rs 240 per kg. This despite the wholesale price of garlic being Rs 100 to Rs 140 per kg.
Chennai Koyambedu Foodgrains Wholesale Merchants Association Secretary R Punnaiappan told Express that prices of pulses which were below Rs 100 in the wholesale market prior to COVID-19 have increased by around 10 per cent. "This is mostly due to local manufacturing being impacted by COVID-19 as well as shortage of manpower in the unit. This is temporary and the artificial rise can be corrected as the crop has been good," he says.
Asked why prices of pulses have nearly breached Rs 150 in many retail shops, Punnaiappan said retailers, who have hiked the prices of pulses and other essential commodities, should have gone in for price correction during the lockdown period.
S Chandran, president of Chennai Koyambedu Foodgrains Wholesale Merchants Association, feels that prices could not be regulated due to the shutdown of the foodgrain market and customers had no choice but to pay whatever cost the retailers demanded. "Now, with the opening of the market here, people will be able to identify the real price of essential commodities and there could be a 15 to 20 percent correction in the artificial prices demanded by retailers," he said.
Meanwhile, only 250 shops opened on Friday after a gap of four months. There was a smile on some faces while others were wrought with worry. Manivannan told Express that traders are now facing a big challenge to reopen their shops due to lack of money. "For the last four months, we have run out of business. The old stocks have rotted. In the entire market, stocks worth crores of rupee have been damaged. We have to start from scratch," he said.
Punnaiappan said that the remaining shops could reopen soon. "Some did not open as Friday was not so auspicious. They may open on Wednesday," he said. But the biggest challenge for traders at the foodgrain market is to win back customers.
The traders were solely dependent on canteens, caterers, hotels, hospitals and hostels. Now with many hostels being shut and restrictions on hotels, it would be difficult for traders to regain the market, says Manivannan. "It would take nearly three to six months for us to come back," he says.
Meanwhile, Chandran has urged the market authorities to take steps to ensure that two-wheelers are allowed in the market so that business can flourish. "The two-wheelers are used by local retailers who buy from us and sell locally. This could curtail the artificial price hike," he says.
However, many traders feel that once the vegetable and fruit markets open, business will pick up as people from far-off places will buy both vegetables and foodgrains for their shops as well as hotels and canteens.
Earlier, Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaippu State president AM Vikramaraja, who was present when the market was reopened, said that he has been urging the authorities to reopen the fruit wholesale market along with the vegetable market on September 28. He also assured traders that the semi-wholesale market, flower market and retail market would also be opened soon.
Chandran, Market Management Committee Licensed Merchants Association President and Anaithu Sangankalin Kootamaippu general secretary, told Express that his federation has urged the government to open retail shops on alternate days on an odd and even basis. However, the government has yet to decide on it.