The removal of 500 and 1000 rupee notes on November 9 came as a huge shock and has affected all of those involved in the fresh produce industry, as India is still a largely cash based society. The move has hit apple exporters in Kashmir and has caused seed potato prices to crash, but it has also seen Tiruchi airport switch to card transactions for it air cargo consignments.
This is the first time shippers are making card payments at the international air cargo terminal since its commissioning in November 2011. The Airports Authority of India has arranged a card swipe machine at the international air cargo terminal to enable exporters to make their payments towards Airport Authority charges.
The shippers have been paying x-ray charges and terminal storage and processing charge by cash all these years, despite the fact that the export community finds it easier to make the payments through card.
However, apple growers and exporters in Kashmir are struggling as they are unable to find any takers, outside state markets, for their harvest. The reason being that the centre's decision has left dealers/companies in several outside markets cash-strapped to an extent that paying freight charges to truckers carrying fruit from Kashmir is proving to be too much of a burden for them.
Bashir Ahmad Basheer, chairman of All Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers cum Dealers Union (AKFGDU) said the Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Punjab Markets are denying fruit consignments from Kashmir due to “unavailability of cash for payment of freight charges,”.
AKFGDU- an amalgam of fruit growers and dealers across Kashmir- stated their business, and supplies of fruits to outside mandis, in Delhi, Mumbai and other places has declined by over 75 percent.
The country’s potato seed bowl is also suffering as the rates of potato seeds have crashed over the past week, from Rs 1,800 per 50 kg to Rs 1,000- 1,200 for the same amount. Prices for the early variety of potato that is already available in the market has come down, from Rs 20 per kg in wholesale market to Rs 10-12 per kg.
Shortage of new currency notes has hit potato farmers in Punjab, who are now struggling to sell their stock of potato seeds. At the peak of the potato sowing season, the lack of new notes in the market is preventing potential buyers from purchasing supplies.
“There are buyers but they do not have the new currency. We have been sending our trucks to other states, but there are no labourers to unload the stock. There is no money to pay them,” said Jaswinder Singh Sangha, general secretary of the Jalandhar Potato Growers Association.
Most of the traders are small businessmen and they prefer purchasing the stock with cash, he added. The potato farmers of Punjab are also the primary suppliers of potato seeds across the country.
(1 Indian Rupee=0.015USD)
Sources: greaterkashmir.com, indianexpress.com, thehindu.com
