New Delhi, Feb 26 (IANS): The violence in some areas of northeast Delhi has impacted the fruit and vegetable business as the wholesale markets have witnessed a dip in trading. Delhi's Azadpur Mandi, which is the prominent vegetable market in north India, has seen around a 25 per cent reduction in the trading of fruits and vegetables.

A wholesale vegetable trader from Azadpur Mandi, on the condition of anonymity, said that hawkers and vendors were not able to reach the mandis, which is affecting the business.

A retailer said that the situation was bad, so he had not bought fruit from the wholesale markets for the last two days, but was selling the left-over stock.

A member of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), Azadpur Mandi, said that the uptake of fruits and vegetables in the mandi has been decreasing for the last two days. He said the fruits that were having more stock included oranges, guavas, apples, watermelons, melons, but the stock of vegetables was less as compared to fruits.

Asked about the impact on the prices of fruits and vegetables, he said: "There is a slight effect on prices, but there is no significant impact on the new arrivals, because the closure of roads on the Delhi-Ghaziabad side will not affect anything as there is a steady inflow from Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other places. But the number of retail traders has come down, and the uptake is less in comparison to the arrivals."

A businessman associated with the wholesale trade of vegetables in Azadpur Mandi said that the situation in Delhi has affected trading by 20-25 per cent in Azadpur market. He said the impact is more on the wholesale markets across the Yamuna river, where 60-70 per cent of the retail business in fruits and vegetables has been affected. Due to this, the wholesale prices of vegetables have dropped by about 10 per cent.