The spectre of a steep rise in commodity prices loomed large in Kerala on the third consecutive day of the COVID-19 lockdown on Thursday.
Major importers of pulses, edible oil and foodgrain said they foresaw an imminent shortage of provisions as the lockdown had hit cargo movement, warehouse and port activities severely.
Pottuvelu Subramanian, head of one of the oldest trading houses in the State, said the shortage of labour and lack of transport had hobbled the efforts of wholesale merchants to get supplies trucked in from other States. For instance, urad dal (uzhunnu), was at a premium. There were few workers to process the staple and parcel the graded pulses to Kerala from production centres.
Truckers’ plight
Truckers were reluctant to ferry goods to Kerala for fear of being detained indefinitely at inter-State checkpoints. They were sceptical about the availability of food given the closure of wayside eateries and lodges. Green gram imports from Australia, meant to make up for the dip in local availability in summer, were languishing in ports. So were palmolein shipments from Malaysia.
Traders said transporters would charge a hefty penalty as demurrage on importers for the delay in unloading the shipments. Ultimately, traders would pass on the extra cost to consumers. A rise in the price of essential commodities appeared difficult to fend off.
R.S. Manikantan, a wholesale potato and onion merchant, said the Tamil Nadu Police had closed down markets and warehouses in Dindigul and Madurai. The existing stocks were fast dwindling. Provision stores found it difficult to open for business with the police unwilling to issue passes to staff. Moreover, the police often turned away buyers.
G. Sanal, general secretary, All India LPG Distributors Federation (Kerala Circle), said lack of delivery persons had hit cooking gas delivery in the State. The federation has requested the government to issue protective gear and travel permits to gas agency staff.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government would operate fleets of trucks on a convoy basis to help wholesalers import essential commodities in other regions and free up provisions and pulses languishing in seaports. He warned traders against hiking the prices of commodities or creating artificial shortage to squeeze profits. He told traders that restrictions on home delivery woule be eased soon.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran told The Hindu that the government was striving hard to prevent a shortage of supplies. The State was in touch with Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to ensure unimpeded movement of freight lorries.
