Mumbai: The Centre’s demonetisation move has hit various businesses, with some seeing a drop of nearly 50 per cent in sales, according to experts.

“Not only the businesses in the financial capital Mumbai and neighbouring Navi Mumbai and Thane, there is steep drop of 50 per cent in all businesses of fruits, vegetable, food grains, dry fruits due the cash flow crisis,” said Sanjay Pansare, a fruit trader and former director of Navi Mumbai APMC, the biggest wholesale market of the state.

“Vegetables are perishing. We are unable to pay cash to truckers who normally charge up to Rs 1 lakh for transporting apples from Kashmir to Mumbai and they are not accepting cheque. Earlier, we would get 325 trucks of fruits everyday which has reduced to 175 trucks per day.” Not just wholesalers, but retailers and small traders are facing taxing times though they are still supportive of the government’s demonetisation move. Mohammad Bollar, who runs a small shop of leather products in Fort of South Mumbai, said, “No matter our daily business has shrunk up to 25 per cent, the most important thing is this will subsequently clean the market and in coming days, customers would have market of fair pricing.” Chamber of Associations of Maharashtra Industry and Trade (CAMIT) Chairman Mohan Gurnani said, “The business and other transaction has been reduced up to 50 per cent. Transactions from food grains to metals are very low… I think it would take another one week to get everything streamlined.” According to Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM), the Mumbai-based organisation of 750 small-scale and trade and service providers associations, “the panic is going to be there” for one or two months, but it would turn out to be a game-changer in future. FAM president Vinesh Mehta told PTI, “This pragmatic step is creating a sense of panic among the public, that is why every transaction and business has gone down 20 per cent or more. But it is more important that when this phase gets over, entire country would reap the benefit out of it.” According to a dealer at Manish market in South Mumbai, people are facing difficulties in getting money for marriages and other occasions, sale of old items at online marketplaces has reduced to 10 per cent of what it was earlier even as the sale of digital instruments, including mobile phones, has also been hit hard since November 9. – PTI