Hyderabad: With half the stock remaining unsold, fruit sellers hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic

"I have been running a fruit stall for two years now, but this year, the business is not even half of what it used to be. I am only able to sell half my daily stock and business has been hit hard because of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Ismail, a fruit stall owner in Hyderabad.

"I have been running a fruit stall for two years now, but this year, the business is not even half of what it used to be. I am only able to sell half my daily stock and business has been hit hard because of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Ismail, a fruit stall owner in Hyderabad. Ismail is not alone in his plight. Many fruit wholesalers in Hyderabad have a similar tale to tell. According to most of them, because people are scared to venture out of homes, their sales are affected and stocks are getting spoilt.

Recounting his woes, another fruit wholesaler Hanumanthu said, "Before the pandemic, the amount of stock which would sell in a day, is not being sold even in four days now. Fruits are getting spoilt because of lack of sales. We are facing huge losses. Earlier, if we did the business of Rs 40,000 in two days, it has now reduced to Rs 8,000-10,000." The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world hard, but one of the worst affected are daily wage earners. The fruit sellers of Hyderabad say that their businesses have been adversely affected. Since these people deal in fresh produce, these can't even be stored if not sold on time.

"The business is dull because of the lockdown for the past four months. People are scared to venture out of their homes. We used to have good sales of mangoes every year, but this year nobody is coming out of their home for the fear of coronavirus. We deal in fresh produce, it can't be stored. The pandemic has hit us hard," said Abdullah, a mango dealer from Hyderabad while talking to ANI about how the pandemic has adversely affected his business. (ANI)

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