‘Unlicensed vendors eating into our businesses’

CHENNAI: Wholesale markets across the city are a boon for licensed traders and vendors of perishable commodities. Or so it would seem to the common public but speak to them and you’ll hear a plethora of problems — both logistics and infrastructure — they face everyday.

One of the biggest problems, as they say it, is the large number of unauthorised vendors that have set up shops on the road selling perishable commodities, and also those using pushcarts for their business.

This has a huge impact on the licensed wholesale and retail traders at Koyambedu wholesale market, Chindatripet fish market, Kasimedu fish market and Kothawalchavadi market. Traders are concerned that customers buy products from sellers outside the market as latter sells at the lowest price.

S Muthukumar, president, Koyambedu Semi-wholesalers Welfare Association stated that licensed traders invest a huge amount of money before entering into the business. “We pay rent, electricity bills, labour salary and property tax. When unlicensed vendors set up shops outside the market, it not only eats into our businesses, but it also leads to delays in unloading products in the market due to space crunch,” he said. “Business has already been slow ever since the pandemic, now the situation has worsened because of these retailers.”

Outside vendors pick the unused and rotten vegetables dumped inside the market and sell it at a lower price, claim traders inside the market. “The public don’t visit inside the market, as they purchase from these unauthorised vendors at the lowest price,” he pointed out.

The market management committee has evicted several encroachments outside the market. “I feel the security tip-off the vendors prior to the eviction drive. So, a majority of them leave the spot immediately. When the officials visit to clear them out, it looks there isn’t a problem,” claimed Muthukumar.

After a week or two, these vendors set up the shop again. “Until the government implements strict action against the encroachers, we’d have to bear dull sales and losses in the business,” rued J Purushothaman, a licensed retail vendor at Koyambedu market.

After the pandemic, retail vendors selling in push-carts have increased drastically in the city making it more accessible for the public to purchase vegetables, fruits, and seafood items at the doorsteps. However, this has largely impacted the shop owners and traders in the city.

“These encroachers make the road a mess by dumping garbage on the streets. It stinks whenever we pass through it,” said R Prabhakaran, a wholesale trader at Kasimedu fishing harbour.

Customers hesitate to purchase from the market by comparing prices between wholesale and retail markets, especially with vendors selling via push-cart. “I know some of my regular customers expressing regret purchasing it from the roadside vendors, as they’ve fallen sick later. But, due to their rockbottom prices, customers don’t think twice before consuming them, as they’re not aware of the activities done by these retail vendors,” mentioned Sheik Dawood, a retail trader at Chindratripet fish market.

He bemoans the surge of online platforms and accuses them of “selling rotten vegetables and seafood items. People tend to buy them because of discounts and fail to see the quality here. Online sales are also one of the main reasons for wholesale and retail traders to witness a huge loss, especially in the last two years,” he opined.