Dates stock dries up during Ramzan

Kolhapur

: With several restrictions imposed on a lot of activities due to the

lockdown

, many essential commodities are drying up from the markets. One such commodity are dates— a fruit that is in high demand during the holy month of Ramzan.

Dates are usually imported from countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. However, now, due to the lockdown, they cannot be imported and the ones that were already stocked before the imposition of the lockdown are rapidly exhausting from the markers.

Jalil Bagwan, a vendor in the Nagala park area, said, “Our shops were shut ever since the lockdown was imposed on March 25. We were not able to trade any type of fruit or dry fruits during this period. We did not place any orders with wholesalers as we were not sure when will we be able to open our shops”

“When we opened our shops from May 4, we sold all the available stock of dry fruits like dates, raisins, almonds and cashews within two days. Customers visiting our shops ask us about the dates but we are not getting them from wholesalers and traders,” said Bagwan.

A wholesaler based in the Shahupuri area of the city said that he had placed the order for dates with concerned agencies considering the high demand during Ramzan. “As all the import orders are stuck due to the lockdown, we could only sell the available stock of dates to retailers and the shops,” he said.

Imran Momin, a resident of Uchgaon said, “During Ramazan, we prefer consuming dates as it gives a lot of energy. This year, we could not get dates from any shops nearby our locality. We have requested the shop owners to alert us once the stocks are replenished.”


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