Pulse wholesalers see fall in business, blame note ban, GST

HYDERABAD: There has been as much as a 60 per cent drop in the sale of pulses by wholesale traders at Begum Bazaar in the city this festival season. Traders say their troubles started with the demonetisaion and worsened by the the introduction of Goods and Service Tax (GST). Though the prices are at an all-time low, the demand for goods is, strangely, low, traders are unwilling to stock the commodity in large quantities in these chaotic market conditions.        

“The sales are down by 60 per cent and we do not know why. Have people run out of money?” wonders Prem Kumar, owner of Balaji Prem Kumar Wholesale Traders at Begum Bazaar. The prices of pulses too are down and even at low rates there are no sales. The fall in rates started last year due to bumper crop,” he explained.

What Kumar fails to understand is that the drop in the consumption of pulses is tied to a nationwide trend of drop in the demand for consumer goods. In August this year, the central government imposed a partial ban on the import of select pulses. That was despite a bumper crop in the 2016 Kharif season. To ease the stress, the central government, on September 15, partially lifted the ban on export of tur, urad and moog dals so that farmers could get a remunerative price for their produce. The liftting of export ban is not widely known and is yet to give boost to wholesale trade.

A 5 per cent GST on pulses sold under registered brand names was announced in September. Most traders say they are yet to even register with GST. Small-time traders, who are below the Rs 20 lakh threshold, too are trying to fathom the plethora of regulations under the GST regime.

“Traders are afraid to do business and, with little buying or selling taking place, they have stopped stocking up big on pulses,” said Suresh Lala, book-keeper at Annapurna Trading Co. “On top of all this, the central excise department has started cracking the whip, making many of us scared. The worry is that the department may seize our goods if we commit any inadvertent mistake due to  our lack of understanding of GST rules,” he added.

With their business taking a hard hit, small traders are struggling to stay afloat.

“After demonetisation, we struggled to pay off our workers and pay shop rent. The supply was affected as truckers did not deliver goods in time. And, not surprisingly, we incurred losses. We are not sure how long this situation will last. Some traders are thinking of switching to other businesses,” said Kumar.