Ludhiana: A deepening labour crisis and an acute shortage of cooking gas have triggered a 30% slump in business at the city’s primary wholesale fruit and vegetable market, threatening the city’s fresh food supply chain.Wholesale traders say a mass exodus of migrant workers, driven by a regional liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shortage and the onset of the spring harvesting season, has stripped the market of both the muscle needed to move goods and the vendors who distribute them to residential neighbourhoods.
Distribution Chain Breaks DownThe sabzi mandi near the Jalandhar bypass serves as the central nervous system for Ludhiana’s produce distribution. However, the system is faltering as the street vendors and hawkers — the primary link between wholesalers and households — disappear from the market floor.“Business is slow because footfall is down,” said Avtar Krishan, a wholesaler at the market. “Work depends heavily on migrant laborers and the hawkers who buy here to sell elsewhere. Many are returning to their native places because they cannot secure LPG, while others are leaving for seasonal harvest work.”The impact is visible across all segments. There is reduced lifting as goods arriving at the market are not being cleared at the usual pace. Wholesalers report a sales slump of 20 to 30%. Fewer vendors are operating in residential streets, slowing the movement of produce to the end consumer.Dual Blow: Harvest and FuelThe timing of the labour shortage is particularly difficult for traders. The annual migration for the harvesting season is a known variable, but the current LPG shortage has acted as a catalyst, pushing workers to leave earlier or in greater numbers. Damanpreet Singh, a tomato wholesaler, noted that the absence of small-lot buyers is the most significant factor in the downturn. “The supply chain within the city is being affected because there are fewer vendors to take the product to the streets,” he said.Gagandeep Singh, another trader, echoed these concerns, emphasising that street vendors are the backbone of the local economy. “The work is down by about 30% because they are the ones who supply the neighbourhood markets,” he said.Uncertain OutlookMarket supervisors report that the reduced footfall has created a hushed atmosphere in what is usually the city’s most chaotic and active commercial hub. “The reduction in both buyers and helpers is clearly visible,” said Mandeep Singh, a supervisor for a local commission agent (arhtiya). Traders warn that if the LPG supply is not stabilised and the labour force does not return following the harvest, the slowdown could harden into a long-term crisis, potentially driving up retail prices for consumers as distribution costs rise.
