KARACHI: The closure of businesses at 5pm due to the lockdown has shrunk business activities of bakeries, sweets and confectionery manufacturers by 40-50 per cent, stakeholders claim.

Limited working hours have also forced the manufacturers to curtail the production of various items by 40-50pc as well.

Online sales are being managed, but it cannot match with the volume of on-spot sales, they added.

However, despite production cut and sales drop, the workers and staffers working at bakeries, nimco and sweet shops and outlets did not face major employment cut.

“A number of workers have already left for Punjab for wheat harvesting season so there is no need to lay off workers. Most of the manufacturers have maintained rest of the staff and workers,” president, Karachi Association of Sweets, Nimco and Bakers (KASNB), Sheikh Mohammad Tehseen, said.

Traders attribute fall in sales to reduced operating hours

“By opening outlets in the morning, two hours from 3pm to 5pm are very busy when customers go wild for purchasing, but this cannot be described as satisfactory in terms of sales,” he said.

Due to reduced working hours, manufacturers are bound to cut production of various items by 40-50pc, he added.

Mr Tehseen, owner of United King, said online sale had risen by five to 10pc, thus somewhat compensating losses but on-spot sales had remained almost half in Ramazan in comparison with last year.

He said coronavirus had taken away all the hustle and bustle at bakeries and sweet shops as most of them used to remain open until 1am before lockdown.

Mr Tehseen claimed that “people have not slowed down buying bakery and sweet items due to any fear of coronavirus”.

Owner of New Dilpasand at Teen Talwar, Clifton, and managing committee member KASNB, Asif Ahmed, said: “Our business has faced 40-50pc drop during this Ramazan as compared to last year and this month will remain in our memories.

“We used to work 17 hours prior to lockdown as compared to eight hours now,” he said, adding that the production of various items had been decreased by 40-50pc to manage sale in limited hours.

He said reduction in business hours had not cast any gloom on employment of workers and staffers because many of them had left for Punjab for wheat harvesting while others continue to work here.

Khajla and pehni sales hit

“Khajla and pehni sales [have been] affected as these items are mainly sold at night,” he said adding that a number of people also used to buy sweets at night, but their demand had already dampened due to the ban on weddings and engagement ceremonies.

Despite hardships caused by lockdown and coronavirus, he said the city administration had forced stakeholders to sell their items based on two-year old price list despite the fact that rates of power, gas, vegetables, ghee and cooking oil, sugar, packaging materials, labour and salaries had risen manifold over the past two years.

Mr Ahmed said the owners of outlets were not allowed to sell all items but they were slowly granted permission from third of Ramazan to sell products after easing of lockdown.

He said a number of times, police used to arrive at 4pm forcing shopkeepers to pull down the shutters despite huge rush of buyers at shops and one hour left before official shutdown.

“However people have shown courage to keep buying bakery items and sweets despite looming threat of coronavirus,” he said and added that so far “limited hours have actually dampened our sales rather than coronavirus.”

Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2020