Cigarettes vanish from Goa
markets; retailers have no clue
Byline: Karan Sehgal
Cigarettes which have disappeared from markets in Goan have left the shop keepers clueless leaving to battle with consumers who turn up at their shops asking for their favourite brand of fag.
Taking advantage of the situation, some shopkeepers are selling cigarette packs at a premium. The maximum retail price (MRP) of a pack of of bada ‘Gold Flakes’is Rs 123, which is being sold for Rs 130 at most mini-stores across Panaji.
Sources also revealed that certain retailers are selling cigarettes at double the MRP. Some retailers are even selling old stocks of brands like ‘Classic Regular’ and ‘Benson and Hedges’, which otherwise find no takers.
The owner of Deepak Super Market in Taleigao said, “The distributor hasn’t shown us his face in the last one month. So, we don’t even know the reasons for not getting cigarettes. Some shop-keepers are selling old stock at double the price, but we aren’t doing it.”
Another shopkeeper lamented that this was an unhealthy practice. "Not informing shop-keepers of issues pertaining to supply of Cigarettes is totally unprofessional," the shopkeeper regretted.
The issue of poor availability of cigarettes came to fore in the early days of April. At that time, companies like ITC and Godfrey Philips had threatened that they would shut their cigarette factories from April 1st because of the directives of Union health ministry directing that cigarettes packets should be covered to the extent of 85% with warnings informing consumers about harm posed to them by smoking.
Whether or not these companies have actually shut manufacturing of cigarettes is not clear, but one thing is certain that cigarettes have almost disappeared from markets in Goa.
A leading super-market in Panaji is keeping only three brands of cigarettes “ Wills Navy Cut, Marlboro and Marlboro Clove Mix. These brands find little or no preference among consumers.
