Markets begin cautious return to normalcy

Gold, textile, footwear shops in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram open for business after two months

Markets in Srikakulam and Vizianagaram reopened on Wednesday on a cautious note after a gap of two months.

Almost all shops, including jewellery, textile and footwear shops, reopened for business. Many shop owners heaved a sigh of relief after getting permission to reopen their businesses, albeit under several restrictions.

In Srikakulam, Kameswari Jewellers proprietor Perla Sambamurthy hailed the Centre’s relaxation for jewellery shops. “The two-month lockdown cripped our business altogether. It had a telling impact on the staff as a majority of the owners were unable to pay them their salaries after paying the rents and electricity bills. The relaxation will revive the businesses to some extent,” he said.

Gold prices have skyrocketed in recent days, with the price of ten grams now ₹48,500 in the retail market. Its rate was around ₹33,000 for ten grams in April 2019, and it rose to ₹40,000 by January 2020. Many people who invested in gold have now stopped buying it fearing that the prices might crash in the near future.

“The demand for gold will rise only when prices come down to around ₹38,000. Till then, only need-based buying will prevail in the market,” Sainadh Gold proprietor Tankala Vidyasagar said.

“The continuous lockdown has hampered the import of jewelry from Chennai, Coimbatore, Mumbai and other places. Any extension of the lockdown will affect the business further since all retail shops depend on metro cities for import of jewelry,” he said.

In Vizianagaram, Sravya Gold proprietor Manchukonda Nagaraju hoped that the gold business would get back on track in the next three months. “Whenever there is an economic crisis, gold prices rise significantly as it is considered to be the best option for savings. However, it would have an adverse impact on the retail business. The gold prices may settle at an attractive level when COVID-19 is controlled across the world,” he said.

M.S. Raju, manager of the Vizianagaram-based Profit Shoe Company, expressed happiness over the permission for reopening of footwear shops. “Due to the fear of coronavirus, many people are not interested in shopping. However, normalcy will be restored as far as footwear is concerned since it is an essential item for each and every individual. We are implementing social distancing norms at our showroom to protect customers and staff from COVID-19,” he said.

Textile showroom owners hoped that the business activity would pick up after Kharif season. “Improvement of the rural economy is essential for textile business. With the forecast of normal monsoon this year, the agriculture activity will be brisk from June. It would help farmers generate a decent income which would be spent on buying of clothes too,” said Boddapati Srinivasa Rao, a textile shop owner at Sri Balaji Textile Market in Vizianagaram.