Entry of goods vehicles restricted, brace for rise in retail prices of veggies, fruits, ET Retail

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<p>Azadpur witnesses the arrival of hundreds of big and medium-sized vehicles every day carrying nearly 12,000 tonnes of goods.</p> — Azadpur witnesses the arrival of hundreds of big and medium-sized vehicles every day carrying nearly 12,000 tonnes of goods.

New Delhi: The supply of vegetables, fruits and other essentials may get affected in the capital causing an increase in retail prices due to restrictions on the entry of vehicles after security agencies sealed the state borders in the wake of the ongoing farmers’ protest.

Traders associations, on the other hand, claimed that there was 75% fall in the number of customers coming from NCR towns to various malls and markets in the capital due to the sealing of borders and traffic jams.
The vegetable and fruit dealers at Azadpur Mandi said that although no impact was seen on the arrival of goods, they feared that the supplies would shrink if the protest continued for long.

Being the largest fruit and vegetable mandi in Asia and a redistribution point, Azadpur witnesses the arrival of hundreds of big and medium-sized vehicles every day carrying nearly 12,000 tonnes of goods.

Anil Malhotra, the general secretary of Azadpur Vegetable Dealers Association, said that till now there was busi ness as usual at the mandi.

“I don’t see the supplies getting affected and rates surging north due to the protest. There could be some delay in the vehicles reaching their destination as the roads are closed at the border but the supplies are not short,” Malhotra said, adding that even the protesting farmers would not like the produce gets spoiled due to non-supply.

Rajveer Singh, a fruit wholesaler operating from Ghazipur Mandi, said that he noticed the delay in the arrival of trucks carrying green vegetables. The fruit and vegetable mandi of Ghazipur is just next to the Delhi Gate border.
“There is no change in the wholesale prices as of now but some retailers may have jacked up the rates artificially,” Singh said.

The Chamber of Industry and Trade (CTI), a traders’ body, said that business in most markets of the capital had fallen due to the restriction in the movement of vehicles.

According to the CTI members, around 3 lakh people visit Delhi’s markets from the NCR towns – Gurgaon, Farida- bad, Noida, Ghaziabad, Loni, Sonipat and others — for shopping.

“On the occasion of Basant Panchami, footfall at marriages were also affected as 200 resorts, hotels and banquets located on the state borders and people had a tough time reaching these places. About 40,000 marriages took place in the city on Wednesday. The wedding season will continue and in given circumstances, traffic jams will only multiply in the city,” Brijesh Goyal, chairman of CTI, said.

Subhash Khandelwal, the president of CTI, said that a huge number of customers in Delhi’s markets were coming from Sonipat, Panipat, Rewari, Bahadurgarh, Narnaul, Gurgaon, Bawal, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad every day. “But due to the farmers’ movement, their numbers have suddenly decreased in the last two days. Not just that, more than 15,000 commercial vehicles stopped to enter Delhi and more than 25,000 commercial vehicles are stuck in Delhi. This will affect the supply of goods in the coming days,” Khandelwal said.