Ariel view of Suva City. [File Photo]

About 15 retailers in the Capital City have shut down permanently due to financial constraints brought in by COVID-19.

Suva Retailers Association President, Jitesh Patel says even though the city is adapting to a new normal, some traders had to close down because they could not meet their funding obligations.

He says COVID-19 restrictions have affected the sales massively, and some members never recovered.

“Well, we have seen a few shops have closed down, we may not know why exactly they closed down but we do know some may have moved to open bigger shops and moving on with businesses. The climate is such at the moment.”

Patel says as the city prepares for the opening of borders, it can’t be confirmed whether a few of these businesses will be opening or not.

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