Pickles, chutneys spread becomes thinner in market places

The only two pickle brands that seem to have passed the dreaded argemone test in the city are Priya and Khilon, and market stocks of of these are sparse. The bottles of these brands of pickle and mango chutney in the various markets of the city — from Daryaganj to the INA — are kept hidden.

Says Deepak Shah in a mini-departmental shop in Daryaganj: “The pickle companies themselves have withdrawn the products. They do not want get into the adulteration controversy which can hit the name of the brand badly. Many of them feel that a temporarily sluggish market is better than the stamp of adulteration. The pickle companies are the worst hit by this mustard oil crisis.”

Shop-owners at Khan and INA markets claim that some companies selling mixed pickle have offered them extra incentives to keep their product on the shelves.

“But it is a great risk. Everyone behaves like the police these days and ask hundreds of questions before buying any product with an oil base. We are keeping Dhara Health (refined Sunflower oil) which the NDDB (the National Dariy Development Board) has assured us is safe. But never without a receipt, lest somebody comes accuses us of illegal trading. If a single person falls ill from a product bought at my shop, my entire life will be ruined,” says Ratan in INA market.

In fact, the pickle and chutney industry which accounts for $ 70 million (1997-98) trading in the miscellaneous food items export sector is caught in a big jam.

Though none of their consignments to the UK and the West Asian countries — the largest consumers abroad — have been rejected, they are sure about what awaits them once the news of mustard oil adulteration gets splashed in other countries.

“The consignments have gone without any complaints. But one cannot be too sure about might happen. We have to gear ourselves for any future development,” an official of the APEDA, the government export agency for agricultural and food products.

And the industry can hardly depend on the domestic market which has shrunk overnight. According to the unofficial local market index, the pickles sales in the city have been reduced to 10 per cent of its earlier sales.

`People are afraid of buying cooking oil. They are asking for official certificates before buying Saffola or Sunflower oil. So who will buy pickle?” the INA shop-owners, who gathered to answer this reporter’s queries, said in unison.