New Delhi: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) claims Indian retail sector has witnessed a loss of Rs 19 lakh crores in the last 5 months due to lockdown and ongoing pandemic.
comprising around 7 crore traders crore since March 25 when the lockdown was imposed to contain the coronavirus infection, traders’ body CAIT said on Tuesday.
Besides at least 20 percent of Indian retailers are likely to wind up their businesses in the next few months,said in a statement. Even in the unlock phase retailers are facing the lowest hit.
Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) released data citing the retail market across the country is estimated from 20 major cities of different states. These cities are major centers for distribution of goods in the states. These 20 cities are- Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta, Hyderabad, Chennai, Nagpur, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Ranchi, Bhopal, Surat, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jammu, Cochin, Patna, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad, Guwahati.
President of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), BC Bhartia and General Secretary Praveen Khandelwal said, ‘domestic trade in the country is going through its worst phase and retail business is hit adversely. If the necessary steps are not taken to handle the situation, then around 20% of shops across the country will be forced to close. Unemployment will also increase in large numbers’.
The retail business suffered a loss of about 5 lakh crore in April. While about 4.5 lakh crore rupees in May, 4 lakh crores in June after the unlock. In the month of July and August, it suffered losses of 3 lakh crore and Rs. 2.5 lakh crore respectively.
The deadly coronavirus has created a hostile environment wherein people are scared to leave the house. The local customers are not coming to the markets. The wholesale markets have been quite low due to non-availability of inter-state transport, rail and many more.. For example, in Delhi daily 5 lakh traders come from other states of the country but now the mobility has decreased.
Merchant organization CAIT has appealed to the Center and all the state governments to take steps as per the existing conditions of the traders. Governments should take necessary steps to re-establish the country’s retail business. If 20 percent of the shops in the country are closed, then the economy of the country will have to suffer. Not only the Center, the economic budgets of the state governments will be affected.