New Delhi: Losses stoke fear among traders of Nehru place in Delhi, as India is set to plunge into the third phase of lockdown due to coronavirus.
With the announcement of the third phase of lockdown beginning from May 3, the traders in Nehru place are not only worried about their sale during the ongoing lockdown but also about the losses that they will have to bear post-lockdown.
The good old market that is visited for all computer hardware and software needs is largely dependent on Chinese imports.
Nehru Place, which is not only the national capital region’s (NCR) biggest Information Technology-hub but is also known as one of the biggest markets in the world for pirated and counterfeit products, is stacked with goods from China.
The traders get those goods booked mainly from China and sell them in Delhi; Nehru place is just one of many such selling hubs in the city that cater to the entire nation. But the business dropped “substantially” here since the supply line from China was cut off to contain the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
At a time, when nation across the globe claim that China must be held accountable for the pandemic, marketeers here are concerned about how will the trade with neighbouring country resume again.
According to a recent report by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), China supplies 43% of India’s imports of the top 20 goods, including mobile handsets ($7.2 billion import from China), computers ($3 billion), integrated circuits, and other inputs ($7.5 billion), fertilizers ($1.5 billion), APIs ($1.4 billion) and antibiotics ($1.1 billion).
When will things be back to normal and smooth trade will begin with China? Such questions are arising in the mind of traders, whose business lie in tatters as goods supply continue to dwindle.
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