Gujarat: FMCG distributors demand pension

FMCG distributors in the state are now demanding a 'pension' scheme stating that they are fighting against great odds in the face of heavy discounts being given by malls and other big retailers."The fact is that several distributors have gone out of business and many are not planning to extend it beyond the present generation. This is because it is no more a viable business," said Arun Parikh, chairman, The Federation of Gujarat FMCG distributors.

As of now there is only one company that offers 0.25 per cent as pension for the total turnover that a distributor contributes for the company's products. "We are now demanding that such a rule be made mandatory for, because that will help safeguard the distributors, who are facing financial troubles and have nothing to rely on in their old age," said Parikh.

The federation was in the city for a meeting where they demanded parity with malls as far as prices of products are concerned.

Mehmood Jhunjhuniya of Ariba Enterprises, one of the distributors who attended the meet said that earlier companies would replace or take back the products that remained unsold if it was given to them within a specific period of time. "But since they have started giving to malls, they don't take back unsold products from us. So once we buy a product we are stuck with it whether it sells it or not," said Jhunjhuniya.

Parikh further said that the companies were also not passing on the benefit of reduced GST to the customers. "We are not given the benefit of reduced prices. The companies initially reduced the prices but now they are back to what they were before the reduction in GST rates," said Parikh.