Farmers, meat industry suffer losses due to hotel timing restrictions

With hotel businesses functioning at only half capacity, the agriculture producers and the meat industry, primarily chicken and mutton is suffering losses in the city

With hotel businesses functioning at only half capacity, the agriculture producers and the meat industry, primarily chicken and mutton is suffering losses in the city.

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The Pune Agriculture Market Committee’s trader association officially requested the state government and the administrator of the committee to allow hotels to run until evening as there are no buyers for the agriculture produce in the market committee.

APMC traders’ association president Vilas Bhujbal and secretary Rohan Ursal said, “For the last whole week, the agriculture arrival is more in the market committee but there are less buyers. The bulk buyers are hotel operators but as the hotels are only running until 4pm, they are purchasing very less.”

The traders’ association demanded the administrator to request the state government to allow the hotel business till late evening as it is linked to agriculture produce.

Meanwhile, chicken, mutton and fish sellers are also complaining that the business has come down by almost half as hotels and bars not allowed in the evening.

Taru fish sellers located at Dhankawadi said, “The main hotel business is in the evening. Even our sale is getting affected in the evening but as the hotels are running only till 4pm, the sale comes down by 50 per cent and only domestic customers are purchasing.”

The APMC traders said, “As the agriculture produce is not getting sold, it is getting damaged. Farmers and traders facing loss by considering that the state government needs to think about increasing hotel timings as they are bulk purchasers.”

Traders also demanded to allow the hawkers to sell vegetables in the evening. As the local administration is not allowing hawkers to sell vegetables in the evening, the retailers are also buying less.

As there is enough arrival and not much demand, the rates for vegetables are very less in the wholesale market.