Kanpurites spend ₹450 cr on immunity building herbs

KANPUR: In a bid to build strong immunity to fight coronavirus infection, Kanpur residents have, during the last two months, spent about ₹450 crore for purchasing Ayurvedic medicines and herbs, said president of Nayaganj merchant association Avdesh Bajpai .

He said people made heavy purchases of Ayurvedic medicines and herbal tea. The demand for chavanprash, honey, Giloya, Ashwagandha, Mulaithi (Licorice), Tulsi (Basil) and 51-Kadha also peaked, he added.

The demand, low usually in summer, jumped by 110 per cent the during Corona period, said Bajpai.

Nayaganj is one of biggest whole sale markets in north India for herbs, spices and Ayurvedic combinations. The market witnessed unending rush of the retail dealers of Ayurvedic medicines and herbs in the last 60 days, said Bajpai.

Due to sudden rise in the demand and fall in supply, the rates of these goods have also touched new heights. The Tulsi which was sold Rs 70 per kilo was now being sold at Rs 115 per kilo. Similarly, Giloya’s price jumped to Rs 70 per kilo from Rs 35 per, said Ashish Gupta a wholesale trader.

In ordinary times, the wholesale market had sales ranging between Rs 10 million and Rs 10.5 million in March and April. During this duration, this sales went up to Rs 50 million, he added.

Since during the summer season, no one purchased these herbal combinations and herbs, most of the companies had to cut down their production. They could not cope up with the demand due to poor supply of the raw materials from other states during Lockdown, said an agent of a reputed herbal products company, VK Goel. Roshan Lal Arora who deals in wholesale in herbal drinks said that the demand for the herbal drinks rose up to Rs 40.5 million.