Chennai

“There was a dip in sale ever since the lockdown began in March. But we were not prepared for the later lockdown. We should have bought fewer loads or sent the fruits to other districts. Now we are forced to dump the produce due to decreased demand. Over the past two days, around 10 tonnes of fruits are wasted,” said K Jayaraman, a fruit trader at Madhavaram Market.

As it is the peak mango, chikoo, grapes and sweet lime season, there is no shortage in supply. “They don’t have a long shelf life too. So most of the produce had to be thrown away over the weekend as no one came to the market. Apples can be stored for a week, but selling we can’t make any profit by selling apples alone,” another trader said.

“The business has been dull since Saturday even though we tried to make business by reducing the price. Only a few of the traders managed to send the produce to places like Cuddalore, Panruitu and Mayiladadurai on Friday itself. We believe that the business won’t pick up till the end of this month,” said Kumaran E, another trader.

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