The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Saturday stated that rising Covid cases and imposition of various restrictions across states has had a direct impact on economic activities. It estimated that retail sales are down on an average by about 45 per cent in the last seven days.

The traders body said that while all possible steps need to be taken to prevent the spread of Covid but at the same time, there is also a need to protect livelihoods and ensure economic activities go on smoothly.

CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said that due to various Covid-19 induced restrictions , there has been ion an average a decline of 45 per cent in the business of retail sectors in the last seven days across the country. “The out-of-town buyer is not going out of his city, whereas the consumers are also going to the market to buy goods only when it is really important. Due to this double whammy, the business of the country has been badly and the central and state governments need to pay attention to this economic impact,” he added .

Domestic trade

According to a survey done by the traders body between January 1-January 6 in 36 cities, the country’s domestic trade has declined by an average of about 45 percent in the last week.“The main reason for this decline is the panic among people due to the third pandemic wave ,money crunch , large sums of money getting stuck in credit and imposition of various covid restrictions without consulting the traders,” the traders body said.

The industry body estimates that estimated decline in sales in various categories ranges from about 30 per cent -65 per cent. For instance : decline in FMCG sales was estimated at 35 per cent, electronics category at 45 per cent, mobiles at 50 per cent, footwear at 60 percent, jewellery at 30 per cent, apparel and cosmetics at 30 per cent each.

The industry body had earlier said that business generated through weddings will also be badly hit over the next two months.

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