|
|
|
Supply of essentials gets tight, retailers feel the pinch in TN
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
SME Times News Bureau | 08 Apr, 2020
With supply of essential items remaining tight amid the nationwide
lockdown due to coronavirus scare, it is the retailers who are feeling
the squeeze on their profit margins in Tamil Nadu.
"The supplies
are tight. Given this situation, some wholesalers are demanding the
Maximum Retail Price (MRP) from us," the owner of a retail outlet in
Chennai's Mylapore locality told IANS.
Another retailer however said company distributors are billing at the normal rates.
"Buying
at MRP and selling at the same price does not make business sense. On
the other hand, buying at MRP and selling at a higher price results in
loss of customer goodwill and also invites legal trouble," N.R.R. Suresh
Alwar, a grocery store owner in Trichy, said.
However, he said,
there are wholesalers who have increased their prices, which in turn has
resulted in reduced margins for the retailers.
"For instance,
before the lockdown, branded wheat flour pack was sold to retailers for
Rs 47 per kg and the MRP would be, say, Rs 57. We will sell it for Rs
55. But now the wholesale price has increase which in turn has reduced
our margins," Alwar added.
According to him, branded biscuits are still available at normal rates though prices of pulses have increased by Rs 10 per kg.
The retailers are also not given any supplier credit and it is only cash purchases.
Meanwhile,
the grocery stores are operating between 6 am and 1 pm across the
state, with retailers enforcing social distances at their outlets.
Departmental stores are allowing one or two persons inside their outlets
at a time as others queue outside.
In case of vegetables,
supplies are normal and items like cabbage, okra, potato, tomato, onion
and others were getting supplied to the Koyambedu wholesale market here.
"During
normal days, about 450 trucks would bring in vegetables. Now we are
getting about 300-330 trucks per day," S. Chandran, President, Koyambedu
Periyar Market Licensed Merchants' Association told IANS.
Chandran said prices fluctuate on a daily basis based on the supplies.
According to him, with demand from the hotels drastically reduced with a ban on dine-in service, the prices may have gone down.
The retail prices of cabbage, potato, tomato and other items range between Rs 30-40 per kg.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|