TRADE

ORGANISATION OF TRADE SINCE 1881.

Change in Organisation of Trade since 1881.

The occupational pattern of the district has undergone considerable change since 1881 due to the introduction of modern processes of production and distribution. However, no statistical picture of this change can be attempted, as there has been no uniform system of presenting occupational distribution in the decennial census returns.

COURSE OF TRADE.

Ratnagiri district, situated between the Arabian sea on the west and the Sahyadri mountain on the east, is a long, narrow, coastal strip of about 250 miles and varies in width from 40 to 180 miles. There is no railway in this rugged and broken belt of coast land. Passenger transport and goods transport is, therefore, done either by steamers and country crafts or by motor cars. Water transport ceases to operate between June and August when the district entirely depends on road transport.

On account of its length, the district has come to be divided, for purposes of trade, into three pockets, broadly distinguishable from one another. Chiplun situated on the banks of the river Vashisti and connected through it to the Dabhol port, can be described as the hub of the commercial activity of the northern part of the district. It is also connected, via Kumbharli Ghat, to Karad, a commercial town and a railway station in Satara district.

Ratnagiri, an important port on the western coast serves the central part of the district. It is connected to Kolhapur, via Amba Ghat, by the ' Mirya-Ratnagiri-Kolhapur-Bijapur-Hyderabad' State Highway.

Though no particular town can be described as the nucleus of trade in the southern part of the district, Malvan and Vengurla serve as the important centres of trade in that area.

The district is primarily dependent on Bombay, both for the sale of its products and for the supply of its day-to-day needs; the most important trade route, therefore, is the sea route to Bombay. Next in importance is the Bombay-Konkan-Goa State Highway passing through the whole length of the district from north to south and could, therefore, be justly described as the spine of the district, as all important towns and roads in the district are connected to it. The other roads are:-

(1) Mirya-Ratnagiri-Kolhapur-Bijapur-Hyderabad road (State Highway); it is an important trade route, when Bombay is not accessible due to excessive rain, trade with Kolhapur and beyond is carried on along this road. (2) Malvan-Kasal-Humbrat-Phonda road (M. D. R.) [Major District Road.] connecting Malvan to Kolhapur city, an alternative trade centre. (3) The road connecting Malvan to Belgaum via Sawantwadi and through the Amboli '. pass and (4) Vengurla-Belgaum-Hubli-Bellary-Gooty-Nellore road (S. H,) [State Highway.] connecting Vengurla to Belgaum, an important trade centre.

IMPORTS.

Ratnagiri, being a deficit district, depends on other areas for supply of food grains and other necessaries of life. The chief articles of import are grocery and grains of all varieties, cloth, sweet oil, medicines and hardware. Sugar and gul are imported from Kolhapur, tobacco from Sangli, Jaysingpur and Nipani; groundnut, sweet oil, oil cakes and cotton seeds from Bombay and Kolhapur and chillies from Sangli, and Byadgi (Dharwar district, Mysore State). Pulses are imported from Bombay. Among various kinds of grains imported jowar comes from Ahmadnagar, Baramati, Karad and Bombay; wheat from Nasik, Bombay and Kolhapur; nachani from Nasik and polished and husked rice from Kolaba, Bombay and Kolhapur. Cloth is imported from Bombay, Belgaum, Ichalkaranji, Malegaon, Madura (Madras), Salem (Madras) and Sholapur. Medicines are imported from Bombay, Poona and Kolhapur; hardware articles from Bombay and Kolhapur; cement from Porbunder, Okha and Dwarka (Gujarat); electric goods, ammunition and cutlery from Bombay; newspapers and books from Bombay, Poona, and Kolhapur; utensils from Bombay and Kolhapur; optical lenses from Bombay and Delhi; leather goods from Bombay and Kolhapur; bangles from Belgaum and Bombay; petrol and kerosene from Kolhapur; glassware from Bombay and Oglewadi and tea from Bombay, Assam, Darjeeling and Nilgiri.

EXPORTS.

There are quite a few commodities that the district exports, mangoes, cashew-nuts, and betel-nuts being the most important. In addition to these, fish, cured as well as fresh, is also exported. Mango is exported mainly to Bombay, Poona and Kolhapur; betel-nuts to Bombay; cashew-nuts to Bombay and America; cocoanut, fish and chebulic myrobalan (hirda) to Bombay. Catechu is also exported in small quantities to Bombay. Salt is exported to the Ghat districts. Mangalore tiles imported from Mangalore are re-exported via Chiplun to Ghat districts.

Mangoes.

Alphonsos known as Ratnagiri hapus are very famous for their delicious taste and flavour. At the beginning of the season, commission agents of dealers at Bombay purchase all the fruits that a tree or trees in an orchard may yield during the ensuing season and very often make advances to the mango producers as early as October, so that the producers may not sell the yield to any other person. The agents sort out raw mangoes and dispatch them by sea or by land route in packages or wooden boxes containing 5 to 6½ dozens of fruits to Bombay, Poona and Kolhapur. The Marketing Inspector, Ratnagiri, estimated that about 18,22,500 packages are exported every year. These constitute about 80% of the total produce of the district.

Cashew-nut.

Cashew or kaju trees (Anacardium occidentale) grow plentifully in the southern part. Cashew-nuts are sold to cashew-nut roasting factories either directly or through intermediaries. In addition to the local supply, cashew-nuts are also imported from Kenya. After roasting cashew-nuts, the shell is removed and cashew kernels are exported to Bombay and America. It is estimated that about 2,51,000 lbs. of such kernels are exported to Bombay and America every year.

Betel-nut.

Betel-nut trees (supari or pophali) grow luxuriously in the northern part of the district, viz. Mandangad, Dapoli and Guhagar talukas. Most of the crop, about 25,000 tons, grown in the district is sent to Bombay either by sea or by road. Local traders or commission agents of the dealers at Bombay purchase unshelled betel-nuts (asoli supari), bake them in the sun for about twenty days, remove the shell, grade them to size and export the same to Bombay for attractive prices.

Cocoanut.

Cocoanut trees grow all over the district. The yield is purchased by commission agents who export it to Bombay.

Ratnagiri, Chiplun, Malvan and Vengurla are the important trade centres. The following list shows the commodities handled at the various trade centres in the district:-

Chiplun: Grains, grocery, mangalore tiles, salt, timber and mangoes.

Rajapur: Grains and grocery.

Dapoli: Betel-nuts (supari), grains and grocery.

Ratnagiri: Mangoes, grains, grocery and fish.

Malvan: Cashew-nuts, fish, grains and mangoes.

Vengurla: Cashew-nuts, grains, grocery and mangoes.

Next in importance to trade centres are the places where periodical bazars are held. The following list shows the taluka-wise distribution of places where periodical bazars are held:-

Of these markets, those held at Lanje, Phunagus, Sangameshwar, Walawal, Kadawal, Kasal, Mangaon, Kotawada, Hardin, Deogad, Talebazar, Shirgaon, Mithbao, Hodawada, Shiroda, Parule I, Malvan, Mhase, Chinder and Pophali had each a turnover of a thousand rupees or more on a bazar day.

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