(Seychelles News Agency) - Wholesalers that sell food products and other items to large hotels in Seychelles are looking for alternative markets now that most tourism establishments are not operational because of travel restrictions.

Apex, a wholesale company, is selling a variety of fruits and meat products at its warehouse at the Bois de Rose Avenue. The products were ordered long ago and had been destined for hotel guests.

"Now that most hotels are not operating due to a decline in tourists, we have lost more than 65 percent of our business," Eric Crutzen, the general manager of Apex -- a wholesale company -- told SNA this week.

As a result, wholesale companies are rethinking their business models and finding alternative markets, while some are doing monthly mega sales.

"We are trying to attract local customers. We have a lot of products still arriving as we have already made these orders months ago. When they get in Seychelles we need to sell them at a lower cost or get rid of it. We have products also reaching expiry dates," said Crutzen.

Apex is selling a variety of fruits and meat products in mega sales at its warehouse at the Bois de Rose Avenue. (Daniel Laurence, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC-BY

Apex, which specialises in the importation of perishable goods, was established in 2005. The company is organising its first mega stock sale this week, which runs until Friday.

"We are selling our commodities at affordable prices and also looking into the possibility of organising a monthly stock mega sales. This will serve as a benefit for customers as the cost of living goes up," he added.

Mano Karan, the general manager of Hospitality Supplies (HSL), another wholesale company, said that due to the closing of hotels "our business has been down by almost 60 percent and we do not know how it is going to reflect in the coming months."

He said HSL is facing major issues which include "the continuous depreciation of the rupee against the dollar which is creating a lot of uncertainty in the market. The other is the overheads cost including rental."   

Another concern is products reaching expiry date and that needs to be rid of for storage facility.

"So we need to have a market for it. We have consignment orders plan at least five months in advance and we cannot stop it from coming," said Karan.

Tourism is the top contributor to the economy of Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean.