The demonetisation of high value denomination notes has hit banana growers and traders. Prices of the fruit have fallen sharply as farmers seek to sell their produce quickly.
However, arrival of bananas continue to remain high at the wholesale market at Gandhi Market as the fruit cannot be stocked for long. Occurrence of mist in parts of the district, especially in Musiri, Thottiyam and Namakkal areas, has hastened the harvest as the fruit would ripen quickly.
A. Vijayendran who has been trading in banana for the past four decades, says that ‘poovan’ and ‘rasthali’ are usually the main arrivals during November and December. Arrivals continue to remain high and normally, the market receives about 8,000 bunches a day.
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“On Wednesday, I received 500 bunches and on Thursday the arrivals doubled. This has caused a dip in price and a bunch of banana was being sold at about Rs.100 against the normal price of Rs.240 to Rs. 300,” he said.
Farmers also wanted immediate cash in denominations of Rs. 100 and not Rs. 500 or Rs. 1,000 in the wake of demonetisation, he said.
Another dealer, V. Muniappan, said that being a perishable produce, both farmers and wholesale dealers have been seeking to sell their stocks quickly to raise cash ever since the demonetisation. “Shortage of currency notes of lower denomination has created problems in completing the transactions,” he added.
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Traders said that though banana prices tend to dip during the monsoon period, the demonetisation has caused a further fall as farmers are looking to sell the fruits which ripen quickly.