Chennai’s Koyambedu vegetable & fruit market see huge dip in sales on Nov 30
The seller says that there was no panic buying or increase in sales on Friday unlike the previous times as the customers didn't give importance to the weather predictions due to the lack of rains after announcements on last few days.
Visual from Koyambedu Market (Photo: Hemanathan M)
CHENNAI: Koyambedu market, the largest wholesale hub of vegetables and fruits here, saw a huge dip in sales on Saturday as the city hunkered down for the lashing winds and rains brought on by cyclone Fengal’s imminent landfall.
"Saturday morning recorded 70 per cent less sales. Around 7,000 tonnes of vegetables arrive in the market on a regular day; today, around 1,500 tonnes remain unsold. If the rains continue tomorrow as well, we are headed for a huge loss, as vegetables will arrive but won’t be sold,” said S S Muthukumar, president of Koyambedu Semi Wholesaler's Association.
Sellers say unlike earlier occasions, when customers scrambled to stock up before a rain event, this time there was no panic buying; even the Friday sales were average. They attribute it to weather predictions for rains, which never arrived, over the last few days.
"Prices also saw drastic fall due to less demand in the market. Carrots, which sold for Rs 80 on Friday, dropped to Rs 50 on Saturday and tomato price went from Rs 60 to Rs 35," Muthukumar added.
Fruit sellers also noted a decrease in sales on Saturday. "As the market has been water-logged, there are no takers for fruits that arrived from Karnataka and Maharashtra, and we fear they will go to waste,” said Dhanasekar, a fruit seller in Koyambedu.
