Covid affects import of dry fruits

Come the festive season of Ramzan next month, Hyderabadis might not be able to break their fasts with dates. Multiple wholesalers and retailers in the city said they are unable to import dry fruits from overseas.

Shipments of Kimia dates, one of the most popular kind, grown in Iran, have completely stopped coming to the city. Other importdependent products such as cashews and almonds are also becoming hard to come by.

Sohanlal, a major wholesaler from Begum Bazaar, said business has been affected in a big way. “All our incoming shipments are blocked. In December, one of our employees visited Iran to place an order for dates. The shipment is ready now, but it is stuck at a port there. No transporter is willing to bring it to India,” he said.

He said that buyers too have shrunk. “A few months ago, Chinese and American buyers would place massive orders with us. Now, none of them are active. I was able to sell five tonnes of almonds a month, now I have sold just one tonne,” he said.

The Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in losses of over `50 lakh to his business, he added.

Vijay, of Shivram Peshawari and Bros, one of Hyderabad’s oldest wholesalers, said the current situation is unprecedented. “There are a lot of sudden developments. We have very

SHIPMENTS OF Kimia dates, one of the most popular kind, grown in Iran, have completely stopped coming to the city. Other importdependent products such as cashews and almonds are also becoming hard to come by.

The Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in losses of over `50 lakh to his business, a prominent businessman said.

little idea of what can be expected. We have never dealt with such fluctuations in prices before,” he said.

While adding that it was too early to say what next month would look like, he said imports of pistachios, almonds, dates and even cashews have been affected. “For instance, India imports most of its almonds from the USA. Right now, we are not getting much of it, and what we do get is not of good quality,” he said. The drop in the rupee’s value compared to the dollar too has affected imports, he said.

Both Sohanlal and Vijay, along with several other dry fruit retailers and wholesalers in the city, said that even day-to-day sales have been affected.

Vijay said, “Our store in Madhapur is seeing at least 30-40 per cent drop in visitors. People seem to be wary of stepping out of their homes,” he said.