With the drought having a severe impact on agriculture operations, Pongal festivities appear to be rather subdued in the city with traders in the city reporting relatively poor sales of jaggery, sugar cane, brass ware and other items.
Both wholesale and retail traders feel they have not witnessed such a critical situation in the last few decades. A. Jayaraman, a brassware seller on Big Bazaar Street, said he stocked about 150 ‘Pongal pots’ about a couple of weeks ago in anticipation of good demand. “But, to my surprise, there has been little takers this season,” he said. Brass pots form an essential component in the ‘Pongal seer’ gifted to the newly-weds.
“The patronage from rural people is on a low key this year, indicating the impact of drought on samba paddy, banana and sugar cane crops,” said R. Selvam, a member of Gandhi Market Vellamandi Merchants’ Association.
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He stocks 15 varieties of jaggery for the festival. Mr. Selvam said demonetisation also had its adverse impact on cash flow in rural areas. “Although two months had lapsed, cash flow has not eased in rural areas,” he said explaining the fall in purchasing capacity of villagers.
Worst-hit are the dealers in turmeric. Traders at Thillai Nagar, Woraiyur Market and Gandhi Market sold turmeric bunches at Rs. 60, Rs. 50, Rs. 30 and Rs. 20, depending on the size and growth of the root.
Kumar, a retail dealer at Gandhi Market, said the market was dull as people bargained.
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He said the price had doubled in comparison to last year. I. Thembal, another retail dealer at the market, said the quality of turmeric had come down due to poor irrigation and failure of monsoon.
Too many cane sellers
Traders of ‘Pongal’ sugar cane said there was not much increase in the price of the edible variety of the cane. Many traders were in the business leading to stiff competition. As the produce must be marketed within a couple of days, they vied with one another. Arrivals were good from Tirukattupalli area in Thanjavur district and Tiruvalarcholai in Tiruchi district. S. Sudarshan, a retail dealer in Thillai Nagar, said he sold the cane for Rs. 35 each. He owns a carriage vehicle on which he had brought the produce from his brother’s field in Tirukattupalli. “With relatively lesser transport expenses, I could withstand the stiff competition,” he said.
In Pudukottai district, the ‘Pongal’ sugar cane growers of Chellukudi, Sirunchunai and Perunchunai villages said they had to take extra effort to irrigate the fields as they had taken advance from wholesale dealers. It had to be sold within a couple of days during ‘Bhogi’ and ‘Pongal’ festival days. “In villages, it is customary to offer five bundles of sugar cane as ‘Pongal’ gift to the loved ones,” said Manickam, one of the farmers.