The glow of Diwali is yet to manifest itself on the Govindappa Naicken Street, the dry fruits trading centre in Chennai. It is as any other day, just low volume business, and not like a festival season, traders said.C Jaichand of the the R Champalal & Co, the largest trader in dry fruits in the area, said this year it is absolutely dry. There is no sign of any seasonal demand."May be the demand will peak as the D-day approaches," he hopes. The notable absentee for him is the corporate sector. The traders are worried that much of the orders that thronged last year's market are not forthcoming this year. "Not a single company has placed orders for the gift assortment packs," Jaichand said.
Traders were apprehensive to divulge any trade volume or turnover figure.In Chennai dry fruits like almond, pista, cashew nuts, dates, fig, and dry grapes are mostly available. The consignments are mostly coming from Delhi, the traders said.
Another peculiarity of Tamil Nadu is that it levies an 11 per cent tax onmost of the items.
"May be this is one of the reasons for the poor corporate demand," traders said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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