Diwali rush yet to begin at Pune's Gultekdi Market Yard, grocery prices hold steady

Pune: With only a few days left for Diwali, the grocery market at Pune's Gultekdi Market Yard is yet to see the crowds traders had expected. Demand for sugar and jaggery has risen with the festival, but supply in the market is ample, so their prices have held steady, with no ups and downs.

Traders say prices of food items were already high. As a result, customers are buying only what they need. The festive bustle that the market usually has at this time is not yet visible.

On items used to make Diwali snacks, traders say demand for sugar, jaggery, edible oil, gram flour, poha and pulses is not strong. Purchases of sugar and jaggery have risen slightly, but a steady flow of stock has kept their rates stable.

The earlier rise in prices of wheat, jowar, bajra and rice remains unchanged. Buyers are picking up goods as per their immediate needs rather than stocking up in bulk. Groundnut prices have not changed. There are no fasting days at present, so demand for sabudana, sama rice and coconut is low.

Prices of edible oil, pulses, atta, maida, poha and chillies are also steady compared with last week, as demand and supply are evenly matched. Some traders also said that drought conditions are affecting people's purchases.

Even so, traders are confident that as Diwali draws closer, buying of food items will pick up in the middle of the week. They expect the number of customers at the Gultekdi grocery market to rise then as well.