The floods in Surat may see sari prices shooting up in the Indore market soon. In addition, the floods have also put paid to Rs 15 crore worth of monthly business in Indore.Most of the cloth merchants and jewellers, including diamond traders, who get their supplies from Surat have been badly affected by the floods with no fresh stocks coming in.Ashok Bhatia, secretary of Sari Trade Association, said: "Due to the heavy floods in Surat, no stock could come into the Indore market. Also, weavers in Surat have gone out of the city and hence the production is nil. This would create an adverse situation in the cloth market during the period between Navratri and Diwali. The rates would also increase considerably."Wholesale sari merchants in Indore are suffering from paucity of fresh stocks, and nor there is any possibility of getting any stock in the next 15 days. Since the present stock position with the wholesale dealers is not alarming, the market rates are not showing any considerable upward trend. Indore is also a centre for diamond trade, but the present market rates have not been affected because of the off-season. More than 70% of the sari stock in the Indore cloth market comes from Surat. Indore is the foremost sari centre in Madhya Pradesh. Hence, the sari business in other cities and towns of Madhya Pradesh would also be affected.
