 |
TRADE
|
 |
TRADE CENTRES
THIS DISTRICT PRODUCES mainly gul, chillies and turmeric as cash crops while paddy and jowar are grown as staple crops. Fruits and vegetables are also grown in the vicinity of Kolhapur city as it serves a good market for sale of such produce. Operators in the market play an important role in trade. Dalals and adatyas are a connecting link between buyers and sellers and they serve as good middle-men between traders. Commodities are brought for sale in the market by the sellers and kept with their approved dalals. These dalals try to sell the produce either to their fellow-traders or they purchase it themselves. Bills and vouchers are prepared and the amount due is paid to cultivators after deducting all charges. Hours of busines are generally in the morning and in the evening. The delivery of produce is given either at shops of commission agents immediately after sale or at the shop of the traders. These traders generally take delivery after a couple of days. Groundnuts are sold at so many seers a rupee and an atki or eight maunds of 16 seers each for a particular sum of rupees.
Agriculturists themselves bring their produce for sale. Commodities like tur, gram, etc. are imported from villages through commission agents or the agents themselves go to the villages for purchase. Transport is provided to a considerable extent by trucks, and bullock-carts, though railway wagons are also utilized often.
Generally, adatyas, co-operative societies and banks provide finance. Even though the rate of interest charged by adatyas is exhorbitant as compared to that charged by co-operative societies and banks, the cultivators prefer to borrow from the former because they get advances quickly without going through too many formalities. The terms and conditions involved in borrowing from private agencies like the adatyas are that the producers should bring their produce to the shop of the dalals and execute the sale through them.
|
