BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE

WHOLESALE TRADE CENTRES

Dhulia.

Dhulia is one of the leading markets dealing in agricultural commodities in Maharashtra. It is an entrepot centre of trade having commercial ties with the principal markets in Western Maharashtra and upcountry markets. Being on the Bombay-Agra road it is a junction of a number of roads leading to Bombay, Poona, Jalgaon, Nagpur, Calcutta, Manmad, Surat, Chalisgaon, etc. Besides the availability of good road transport, Dhulia is connected by railway with the Bombay-Bhusawal-Delhi trunk line.

Dhulia is an assembling and distributing centre of wholesale trade in cotton, groundnut, udid, math, mug, chavali, til, gram, wheat, jowar, bajra, chilli, gul, onion, mangoes, tobacco, cattle, sheep and goat. These commodities are assembled at Dhulia from the surrounding areas in the district and from the neighbouring areas of Madhya Pradesh, Nasik, Ahmednagar and some parts of Jalgaon district. Being a high paying market Dhulia attracts sellers from even distant places.

Cotton and groundnut are the principal items of wholesale trade at Dhulia. The average annual turnover of groundnut trade is over 2,05,000 quintals and that of cotton about 2,00,000 quintals. Nearly 80 per cent, of the groundnut is consumed in local oil mills for oil expellation. The oil is exported to Bombay, Madhya Pradesh and some markets in north India. There are 13 oil mills at Dhulia, Most of the raw cotton is ginned and pressed in the local factories before being exported to Bombay and other destinations. There are nine ginning factories and four ginning and pressing factories, at Dhulia. A part of the cotton is utilised by the spinning and weaving mills at Dhulia, whereasl the rest, amounting to more than 80 per cent, is exported to Bombay.

Dhulia market exports jowar to Bombay and Gujarat; udid to Madras and Assam, mug to Assam, Delhi, Punjab and Gujarat; and wheat to Bombay and Poona. There are about 55 wholesale dealers in foodgrains, of whom about 40 are general commission agents.

Dhulia is also an important centre of tobacco trade. There are five wholesale dealers of tobacco. It is brought from Baroda, Kaira, Kolhapur arid Guntur, and is distributed to the neighbouring areas, and Jalgaon, Ahmednagar and Nasik. The local wholesalers or their brokers purchase tobacco from the source markets, noted above. Tobacco is also used by the local bidi factories (3 factories) and jarda manufacturers (3). The annual turnover of tobacco trade is reported to be about 8,000 to 10,000 Bengali maunds. Heavy excise duty has an impact on the sales and consumption of tobacco, and that the turnover of trade was much higher before the World War II than at present. The main varieties sold in the district are rava, bidi tobacco, kala chopdia and lal chopdia.

Banking facilities which form an important part of the infrastructure of trade and commerce are readily available at Dhulia. The branches of the (i) State Bank of India, (2) Bank of Maharashtra, (3) Punjab National Bank, (4) Bank of Baroda, (5) District Central Co-operative Bank, (6) Dhulia Merchants' Co-operative Bank, (7) Urban Co-operative Bank, and (8) Rajwade Mandal Peoples' Co-operative Bank provide institutional finance to trading activity at Dhulia. Warehousing on scientific lines is also one of the factors which has helped in the development of trade at Dhulia. Besides the warehouse of the Maharashtra State Warehousing Corporation, a number of private godowns are available at Dhulia. All these factors have contributed to the affluence of Dhulia as a centre of trade and commerce.

Nandurbar.

Nandurbar is another entrepot centre of trade where agricultural commodities from Nandurbar taluka and some villages of Taloda, Akkalkuwa and Shahada talukas are assembled for marketing. It is one of the oldest markets in the region. Bulk of the produce, in the surrounding talukas formerly used to be assembled at Nandurbar. But since the last decade a sizeable part of it is diverted to the regulated markets in the respective talukas. The fertile tracts along the Tapi are an important source of agricultural produce at Nandurbar.

Being on the broad gauge railway line (Bhusawal-Surat route), Nandurbar is well connected to Jalgaon, Bhusawal, Nagpur, Surat, Ahmedabad, Bombay and markets of Central India. Bulk of the produce is transported by railway. It is linked by road to Dhulia, Sakri and Taloda.

The principal commodities of wholesale trade at Nandurbar are chillis, cotton, groundnut and jowar. The total annual turnover of trade in agricultural produce at Nandurbar amounts to about Rs. 4 crores. The turnover of chilli trade comes to the tune of about Rs. 85 lakhs, that of groundnut about Rs. 90 lakhs, of cotton Rs. 44 lakhs and of jowar Rs. 72 lakhs. Cotton bales (about 8,450 bales every year) are exported to Bombay, Nagpur and Amalner. Bombay is. however, the principal destination. The agents from Bombay and Surat also purchase cotton at Nandurbar. Groundnut in considerable quantities is sent to Bombay, Surat, Madhi, Bardoli, Bilimora, Bulsar, Amalner, Pachora, Jalgaon and Bhusawal.

Nandurbar, which is very famous for chillis, exports chillis to Ahmedabad, Anand, Nadiad, Baroda, Bombay, Akola, Khamgaon, Indore, Poona, Jalna, Aurangabad, Sholapur, Godhra, Ujjahi, and Madras. Traders from these places come down to Nandurbar and purchase chillis. Formerly chillis used to be exported to Assam also. Before the introduction of the system of monopoly procurement of jowar by the Government, jowar used to be exported to Gujarat State, and to Bombay, Poona, Sholapur, Lonand and Phaltan markets. Traders from these places used to come to Nandurbar for jowar purchases. Tur is exported to Surat, Ahmedabad, Madhi, Vyara and Bombay.

The following statement gives the statistics [The statistics are estimated by the authorities of the Nandurbar Market Committee.] of the principal exports from Nandurbar market: -

Besides the above mentioned commodities, there are wholesale transactions in mug, udid, gram, chavali, math, sesamum, linseed, gul, wheat, bajra, ova and tobacco. There are seven wholesale dealers of tobacco whose total annual turnover amounts to 8,000 maunds. There are about 190 wholesale dealers dealing in various commodities at Nandurbar.

Processing industries, banking and warehousing facilities available at Nandurbar have gone a long way in fostering the development of trade and commerce. There are two cotton ginning and pressing factories, eleven oil mills, and a few groundnut decortication factories. Institutional finance to trade is provided by branches of the State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Dena Bank and District Central Co-operative Bank. The Maharashtra State Warehousing Corporation has made available a warehouse since December 1959, for scientific storage of agricultural produce.

Dondaicha.

Dondaicha ranks next in importance to Dhulia and Nandurbar as a centre of trade. Its situation on the Bhusawal-Surat broad gauge railway route has facilitated commercial ties with Surat, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bombay, Jalgaon and other important market places in Maharashtra and Gujarat. It is also conveniently connected by road route to Nasik, Manmad and Bombay via Dhulia. Considerable volume of agricultural produce is assembled at Dondaicha from the neighbouring areas and the fertile tracts along the Tapi.

The principal items of wholesale trade, in order of their importance, are groundnut, cotton, chillis and jowar. Dondaicha is one of the most important chilli markets in Maharashtra. Groundnut is, however, the most important item of trade. The annual turnover of groundnut trade exceeds 4,50,000 maunds or 30,000 cart loads. There are 20 wholesale traders who purchase groundnut at the market yard. The oil mills, six at present, crush oil and export oil as well as oil cake. Oil is exported to Bombay, Tatanagar, Delhi, Agra, Amalner and Chalisgaon, whereas oil cake is sent to Belapur, Kopargaon and Ahmednagar. Cotton ranks next in importance as an item of trade at Dondaicha. The average turnover of processed cotton which exceeded 20,000 bales per annum upto 1950 had recently declined to about 6000 bales per year. This decline is attributed to the establishment of new regulated markets in the tracts along the Tapi. There were, in 1964, 10 wholesale dealers. Virnar and Cambodia are the principal varieties of cotton at Dondaicha. Raw cotton is ginned and pressed at the local factories (5 in 1964-65) before being sent to Bombay and other places. Besides local sales, cotton seed is exported to Saurashtra. The following are the estimates [The,estimate are furnished by the Agricultural Market Committee, Dondaicha.] of exploits of various commodities from Dondaicha: -

The necessary facilities of bank finance and commercial credit are available at Dondaicha. The Maharashtra Warehousing Corporation has built a warehouse which provides for storage of agricultural produce on scientific lines.

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