rajkot indias biggest timber cluster at kandla is staring at a grim future with payments running into crores of businessmen getting stuck with wholesalers across the country and migrant labourers leaving in big numbers in the last two months owing to the covidinduced situationbusinessmen fear suspension of production activity if the severe liquidity crunch caused by the disrupted payment cycle continues through may the timber units in kandla are presently working at 50 capacity seventy per cent of indias timber requirement is imported at deendayal port trust formely kandla port and adani groups mundra port the plywood industry and sawmills around kandla supply processed wood to the wholesalers in all over the countrynavneet gajjar president of kandla timber association kta told toi the usual cycle of payment is 6090 days but nearly 30 of the amount which comes to about rs 200 crore is stuck because of lockdownlike situation and voluntary shutdowns by many industrial associations banks on the other hand refused to extend letters of credit for our timber import which has only added to the problems as nobody can afford to default on bank payment gajjar saidmukesh bhartia a plywood factory owner said it doesnt make any sense to have stocks when there is no demand in the market if the situation continues for two more weeks we will have to shut our untsthe plywood and timber processed in this industry is used in the real estate industry furniture veneer particle board toys paper and other various sectors timber is imported from new zealand malaysia african countries latin america and european countrieshemchandra yadav vicepresident of kta added the labour force which comes from bihar assam and orissa have already started leaving for the fear of lockdown and reduced working hours