BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE

EXPORT TRADE

Export Trade.— Buldhana district being a fertile agricultural tract, there is a considerable amount of surplus agricultural produce left after satisfying the local needs. The exportable surplus is significantly large in respect of cotton, jowar, udid, mug, tur, chilli and cotton seed. An account of the export trade in the principal commodities is given below:—

Cotton: Cotton is by far the most important commercial crop in Buldhana district. This commodity accounts for the largest proportion of export trade from this district eversince the distant past. [Refer to the account of cotton exports quoted, from the old Buldhana Gazetteer in the preceding pages in this chapter.] The varieties of cotton produced and exported from this district are 1,007, L/147 and AK 277 which are branded as long staple varieties. The 1007 and the L/147 varieties which have a fibre length of about 31"/32 yield a yarn of silky texture.

Khamgaon is the biggest cotton market in this district, and is said to be one of the most important cotton markets in Maharashtra. Khamgaon is followed by Malkapur as an important exporting centre of cotton, which in turn is followed by Shegaon, Nandura, Chikhli, Deulgaon, Mehkar and Jalgaon as centres of cotton trade. The transactions in raw cotton are regulated under the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act of 1963. The sale and purchase of cotton are controlled by the market committees. [ Refer to the section on Regulated Markets which gives the mode of regulation and the volume of cotton trade in each market.] A sizeable amount of cotton is brought to Khamgaon and Malkapur not only from the respective market areas but also from parts of Akola, Yeotmal, Jalgaon and Aurang-abad districts. Besides the market arrivals, a large volume of raw cotton is purchased by the traders from villages which are outside the jurisdiction of the regulated markets as well.

It is noteworthy that the entire cotton produced in the district is exported after ginning and pressing. The cost of ginning and pressing amounts to about Rs. 19 and Rs. 16, respectively, per bale.

The exports of finished cotton from the Khamgaon centre amounted to 1,15,380 quintals valued at Rs. 4,61,42,000 in 1966-67. [ For the volume of trade in raw cotton in the various markets, refer to the account of Regulated Markets given in this chapter.] The destinations of cotton from the markets in the district are Bombay, Surat, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Akola, Pulgaon, Kanpur, Delhi, Pondichary, Coimbtore, Calcutta, Madras and Madurai. A bulk of the cargo is transported by railway from Malkapur, Shegaon, Khamgaon, Jalamb and Nandura railway stations. The transhipment by road is, however, large from Meh-kar, Chikhli and Deulgaon which are not served by railway.

The transactions are mainly on a cash basis, though forward transactions are by no means small. The prices of raw cotton fluctuate as per the price fluctuations at Bombay. The local traders take a note of the prices at Bombay either on the telephone or radio sets. Government regulations regarding inter-district and inter-regional movement of cotton affect the demand as well as prices of cotton.

Food-grains: There is an exportable surplus of food-grains which forms a substantial proportion of the commercial transactions in this district. After meeting the local needs of consumption, a considerable quantity of jowar, udid, mug, tur dal and bajri is exported from the district. However, since the introduction of the system of monopoly procurement by Government the free trade in jowar [' Refer to the section on State Trading and Fair Price Shops given in this chapter.] is prohibited with the result that the export of this commodity is banned under the rules. The principal food-grain markets are: Khamgaon, Shegaon, Malkapur, Chikhli, Deulgaon, Nandura, Mehkar and Jalgaon, all of which are regulated under the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act of 1963, and are supervised by separate market committees. [ For details refer to the section on Regulated Markets.] The traders purchase the commodities from the agriculturists at the market-yard and export them to distant markets.

It is estimated that about 70 per cent of udid, 75 per cent of mug and 60 per cent of the tur dal traded in the Nandura market is exported. The Shegaon market authorities estimated that 60 per cent of the food-grains produced are locally consumed while 40 per cent are exported. As per the report from the Khamgaon market committee 90 per cent of udid, 75 per cent of mug and 20 per cent of tur which arrive in this market are exported. The approximate quantity and value of the commodities exported from Khamgaon in 1966-67 are given below:—

The market authorities reported that udid is exported to Bombay, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Madras, Vellore, Tutikorin, Madhi, Delhi, Bulsar, Agra, Calcutta, Surat and Jalna; mug is exported to Bombay, Delhi, Agra, Ahmedabad, Bulsar, Madhi, Nagpur, Jalna and Calcutta; tur is sent to Virudhunagar, Lucknow, Amra-vati, Agra, Delhi and Madras. Bajri is exported to a small extent to Akola and Yeotmal districts.

A major part of the cargo from Malkapur, Shegaon, Khamgaon, Nandura and Jalamb is transported through the railway, while that from the interior markets goes mainly by road. The period of brisk trade ranges between November and February.

Other Exports: The other commodities exported from the district are chilli, cotton seed, ground-nut oil and banana. Malkapur is the principal centre of exports of chilli and banana which are sent to Nagpur, Akola and Amravati. Cotton seed is exported from most of the centres of the cotton ginning and pressing industry, the major among them being Khamgaon, Malkapur, Shegaon and Nandura. With the expansion of the Vanaspati oil industry, the demand for cotton-seed oil has increased considerably. Ground-nut oil is sent to Nagpur, Amravati, and Akola. Groundnut is crushed in the local oil mills, and the oil is dispatched outside in big drums.

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