BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE

WHOLESALE TRADE

Wholesale Trade : The wholesale trade on a large scale is mainly confined to Akola, Washim and Karanja which are collecting and distributing commercial centres in the district. Besides these, there are six other wholesale centres viz., Murtizapur, Malegaon, Akot, Telhara, Risod, and Mangrulpir. The traders from these sub-centres make the purchases at Akola and Karanja and sell the same at their respective places of trade. The functioning of this commercial centre is given in the following account.

Karanja.—Karanja is one of the biggest centres of wholesale trade in Akola district. Its convenient and favourable location on Achalpur-Yeotmal railway line of the Central Railway and the existence of many roads has added to its commercial importance. It is connected with Yeotmal and Amravati districts as also with Akola and other important trade centres in the district. It thus provides facility for the traders and agriculturists to assemble and dispose of the agricultural produce quickly and thereby provides an outlet for the agricultural produce from the outlying areas. The agricultural produce comes from primary markets and also directly from agriculturists. Agencies involved in the collection and distribution of the commodities are village merchants, pakka adatya, kacha adatya. processors, co-operative societies, etc. The important agricultural commodities which are brought for wholesale transactions are wheal, cotton, groundnut, oil-seeds, jowar, tur linseed, etc. The large turnover of these agricultural goods has given rise to a number of processing industries, such as, rice dehusking. bhagar processing, rice parching and oil-mills.

Besides agricultural commodities, other goods are also brought for sale at Karanja. Cloth is directly purchased from mill-owners from Bombay, Ahmedabad, Malegaon, Sholapur, Nagpur and Madras. At Karanja there are about 56 cloth shops. The total turnover of cloth in the year 1968-69 was to the tune of Rs. 33,16,000. Besides, there are wholesale shops dealing in such commodities as hardware 7, medicines 9, stationery and cutlery 13 and ready-made garments 5. The turnover of tea and coffee in the year 1968-69 was worth Rs. 2,05,000, kerosene and petrol 5,25,000 litres and cutlery Rs. 4,90,000. Salt is brought from Bombay, Ratnagiri and Kolaba, whereas all the cosmetics are brought from Bombay, Pune and Nagpur, Medical goods are purchased from the medical representatives of the various medical factories at Bombay, Ahmedabad, Kanpur, Calcutta, etc. Hardware articles, such as, iron sheets, chains, nails, bolts, screws, cast iron articles, buckets, pipes, colour paints and a number of other constructional articles are brought from Jamshedpur, Jullunder, Calcutta, Bombay, Pune and Delhi. Most of this merchandise is brought by railway. Cement from Bombay, Katni, Jabalpur and Guntur is directly brought by the traders from these centres.

TOP