TRADE

RETAIL TRADE.

A retail trader deals directly with the consumer and as such can be described as a link between wholesale traders on the one hand and consumers on the other. Retail shops do flourishing business in almost all towns of the district by catering to the needs of their localities. Stocks on hand are usually limited arid are continuously replaced by the retailer, who keeps running accounts with wholesale traders from his town and, in a few cases, with wholesale traders outside the district. Retail sales are made usually on cash basis but credit for a month or two is also granted sometimes.

The Bombay Shops and Establishment Act (LXXIX) of 1948 which enforces compulsory registration of all shops and establishments located within the municipal limits has been applied to all the municipal towns in the district except Rajapur. The administration of the Act is entrusted to municipal authorities. The following statement shows the number of shops registered and employment therein:-

TABLE No. 9

NUMBER OF SHOPS AND EMPLOYMENT THEREIN IN THE MUNICIPAL TOWNS OF RATNAGIRI DISTRICT.

continued

Chiplun.

In 1957, Chiplun had the highest number of retail shops employing 1,291 men, 35 women and 75 children. The ward-wise distribution of these shops showed a marked concentration in ward number VII with as many as 666 retail shops or about 74.9 per cent. of the total shops in the town. Ward No. IV, however, had only 3 shops.

Of the total number of shops, grocery group accounted for the highest with 246 shops. This group was followed by ' pan, bidi and cigarettes' with 73 shops; ' medicine ' with 44 shops, ' tobacco and snuff' with 43 shops and ' cloth and hosiery' with 13 shops.

Shops coming under the ' grocery' group employed the maximum number of persons. This group was followed by 'pan, bidi and cigarettes' and then by ' stationery, cutlery, bangles and provision '. The peculiarity of the ' grocery' group was that it provided employment to the highest number of women and children.

Malvan.

Malvan had 537 retail shops employing 881 men, 45 women and 25 children. About 85 per cent. of these shops were located in wards No. I II and IV. Ward No. IV had the highest number of shops, while ward No. III had the lowest number of them.

The highest number of shops belonged to the ' grocery' group which accounted for 176 shops or about 32.8 per cent. of the total number of shops in the town. This group was followed by 'pan, bidi and cigarettes' with 38 shops. ' Stationery, cutlery, bangles and provisions' accounted for 44 shops.

The grocery group employed the maximum number of persons or 66 per cent. of the total number of persons employed in retail trade in the town. This was followed by pan. bidi and cigarette shops employing 65 persons and by fuel shops employing 38 persons. The grocery shops employed the highest number of women and children.

Sawantwadi.

There were 482 retail shops in Sawantwadi, employing 1,098 men, 42 women and 17 children. The ward-wise distribution of retail shops in this town showed a marked clustering in ward No. VII with 360 shops or nearly 74.7 per cent. of the total number of shops in the town. Next came ward No. VI with 65 shops. Ward No. I had only two shops.

Largest group was the 'grocery' accounting for 98 shops. This was followed by ' pan, bidi and cigarette' with 38 shops, by ' cloth and hosiery' with 21 shops and by ' stationery, cutlery, bangles and provisions' with 20 shops.

The 'grocery' group employed the highest number of persons or about 22.3 per cent. of the total number of persons employed in retail trade in the town. This was followed by pan, bidi and cigarette shops employing 86 persons, by cloth and hosiery shops employing 66 persons and by medicine shops employing 56 persons. The employment of women was the highest in shops selling milk and milk products. The maximum number of children was employed in grocery shops.

Vengurla.

Vengurla had 345 shops employing 475 men and one woman. The ward-wise distribution of these shops showed that 65.8 per cent. thereof were located in ward No. III followed by ward No. V. Ward No. 1 had only six shops.

More than 33 per cent. of the shops belonged to the ' grocery' group. This group was followed by ' pan, bidi, and cigarettes' and then by stationery, cutlery and provision'.

The 'grocery' group employed the maximum number of persons. Others in order of precedence were 'pan, bidi, cigarettes, etc' employing 38 persons and ' stationery and provisions' employing 30 persons.

Khed.

Of the six towns where the Shops and Establishments Act has been applied, Khed had the minimum number of shops. These shops were fairly distributed over the town, ward No. III having the highest share with 32.2 per cent. in the total shops in the town. It was followed by ward No. V and then by wards No. II and VI. Ward No. VI had only eight shops.

The 'grocery' group had the highest number of shops, being 22.6 per cent. of the total thereof. Others in order of precedence were pan, bidi and cigarette shops, cloth and hosiery shops, followed by tobacco and snuff, stationery, cutlery, bangles and provisions, etc.

General Description of shops. Grocers.

Among the retail shops, the 'grocery' group had the largest number of shops and biggest turnover and employment. They also formed the most widely dispersed group in all municipal towns. Of the various articles sold in these shops, cereals, spices, condiments and tea were the important ones. The size of these shops varied from petty shops with stocks worth Rs. 500 to those with stocks worth Rs. 75,000. The shop-keepers at times were both wholesale-cum-retail traders transacting with wholesale traders at Bombay, Kolhapur, Belgaum, Sangli and Nipani. Credit facilities, which were usually granted, varied from centre to centre, the period of credit ranging from 15 to 60 days. Small traders have usually running accounts with big traders with the common understanding that accounts should be cleared at the end of every year, that is, before Divali festival.

The period between June and September was reported as a dull period, while April and May were described as months of brisk activity.

Cloth and Hosiery Shops.

Cloth and hosiery shops come next. Though their total number in a town is small, their annual turnover is quite large. Mostly, these shops are located in the commercially important parts of the town. They sell cotton textiles such as shirtings, coatings, dhoties, saris and hosiery. Some of them also sell silk and woollen cloth. Quite a few stock umbrellas. The stock-in-trade ranges from Rs. 600 to Rs. 40,000. Petty shop-keepers purchase their requirements from Kolhapur, whereas big shop-keepers purchase their stock-in-trade at Bombay directly from mills or from their authorised agents.

General Description of Shops.

The period between June and September was reported as dull, while April and May were described as months of brisk activity.

Stationery, Cutlery and Provisions.

Next in the order are stationery shops. They sometimes trade in provisions and cutlery articles also. These shops are located in almost all wards of the town. Smaller shops have a stock of about Rs. 1,500 and big ones that of about Rs. 10,000. Shop-keepers purchase mostly from Bombay and enjoy credit for about two months. Business activity was reported to be dull from May to July and brisk from September to April.

Pan, Bidi, Cigarette and Tobacco.

Like grocery shops, these shops frequent almost all parts of the town. They stock betel-leaves, pan bidis, cigarettes, and tobacco for chewing as well as for smoking. Quite a large proportion of them stock washing soap, snuff, and other sundry articles of day-to-day use and of a durable nature. Most of the shops are either of a medium or of a small size. Smaller shops keep a stock of about Rs. 20, and big ones that of Rs. 600. Big traders purchase cigarettes and snuff at Bombay; tobacco at Sangli or Nipani, and as a rule, purchase them against cash payment. Petty shop-keepers rely mostly on local purchases and enjoy a credit for fifteen days. The business is normal throughout the year.

Shops under this group sell medicines of foreign as well as of indigenous preparations. The stock-in-trade of a shop is about Rs. 20,000. Foreign medicines are purchased at Bombay. Indian medicines manufactured within the State are purchased directly from factories and, those manufactured elsewhere from Bombay. Purchases are on cash basis. September and October are reported as dull and June and July as months of brisk activity.

Leather goods.

Leather goods shops are mostly shops making and selling a local variety of footwear known as konkani chappal or vahan, as per the orders of customers. They rarely make luxury articles such as suitcases, purses, hand-bags, etc. Their stock-in-trade varies from Rs. 150 to Rs. 500. Leather required for soles is locally purchased and that for the upper part is purchased at Bombay and Belgaum on cash payment. During monsoon the turnover is considerably low. September and October are reported as months of brisk business.

Cycle Shops.

The number of cycle shops is negligible which could be accounted for by the hilly nature of the district. These shops repair cycles, keep them for hire and sell spare parts. Cycles are hired on hourly, daily and monthly basis. Some of them sell new cycles also. New cycles and spare parts are obtained from Bombay. Value of stock (cycles, spare parts) varies from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 3,000. Business is reported to be slack during monsoon. It is, however, normal for the rest of the period.

These shop-keepers sell mainly copper, brass and aluminium utensils. However, recently the proportion of stainless-steel utensils is increasing. The value of stock-in-trade ranges from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 12,000. Aluminium and stainless-steel utensils are purchased at Bombay, brass-ware at Poona and copper-ware at Kolhapur. Credit facilities are not available in Bombay. Poona as well as Kolhapur dealers grant credit for about three months. Some of the dealers in this district keep running accounts with dealers at Poona and Kolhapur. The period between June and September is reported to be dull whereas business is brisk during April and May.

Hardware and Building Material.

Shops coming under this group sell articles such as galvanised iron sheets, corrugated as well as plain, iron bars, sheets, beams, screws, nails, timber, cement, paints, sanitary fittings, etc. Most of their requirements are obtained from Bombay. At times orders are also placed with dealers at Kolhapur. Cement is imported from Porbunder and Okha. The highest sales are effected in April and May, while they decline with the onset of monsoon.

The following table gives the number of shops of the various groups of commodities in the rural areas of the various talukas:-

TABLE No. 10.

TABLE SHOWING TALUKA-WISE DISTRIBUTION OF RETAIL SHOPS IN THE RURAL AREAS OF RATNAGIRI.

The following statement gives volume of business done by the big shopkeepers:

TABLE No. 11.

 NUMBER AND GROSS TURNOVER OF DEALERS REGISTERED UNDER THE BOMBAY SALES TAX ACT.

continued

TABLE No. 12.

NUMBER AND TURNOVER OF DEALERS REGISTERED UNDER THE BOMBAY SALES TAX ACT (CHIPLUN, RATNAGIRI, MALVAN AND VENGURLA TOWNS).

continued

Since the turnover of most of the retail shops in the district does not reach the minimum prescribed for registration under the Sales Tax Act (Rs. 10,000 in the case of importers and manufacturers and Rs. 30,000 in the case of other dealers), they fall, outside the scope of the statement.

As per available data, there are 490 dealers in rural areas registered under the Bombay Sales Tax Act. In the urban areas, this number is 254. The gross turnover of the registered dealers in rural and urban areas was found to be Rs. 4,97,04,276 and Rs. 2,62,11,657 respectively in 1958. The largest number of dealers was in the ' foodstuffs ' group, followed by 'clothing'. The largest number of registered dealers was in the Sawantwadi taluka.

PEDLARS.

Next in importance to religious fairs are the pedlars who go hawking merchandise from village to village. This class of merchants in the trade organisation of the district has certainly a place even to-day, but their system of trade has undergone considerable changes in recent years. The growing importance of weekly bazars and fairs docs not give scope to pedlars going from village to village, because villagers now show a preference for the periodical markets. They obtain their necessities either from village shops or from weekly bazars held in a village or near about. This, however, does not mean that pedlars have altogether disappeared from rural areas. They exist in most taluka-headquarters of the district.

Pedlars in this district usually carry goods on their own person, a few have hand-carts with four wheels, while some use bicycles,. The goods and commodities sold by them include bhel, chana, fruits and vegetables, bakery products, pins, needles, bangles, sweetmeats, foot-wears, toys, etc.

Municipalities do not generally issue licences free of charge to pedlars. The latter obtain their stock-in-trade from neighbouring towns and adjoining villages. Their business is dull during monsoon and brisk during winter and summer.

COASTAL TRADE.

A major quantum of the total trade of Ratnagiri district is represented by the coastal trade where the ports naturally play a predominant part. Of the goods imported, the important ones are foodgrains, ground-nut oil, kerosene, cloth, ready-made clothes, leather goods, stationery, cutlery, crockery, watches, utensils, iron and steel goods, opticals, medicines, etc. Among the exports are mango, myrobalan, shewriwood, teakwood, cashew, betelnut, dry fish, etc.

The accompanying table gives statistics of imports into and exports from the ports of the district:-

TABLE No. 13.

STATISTICS OF IMPORTS INTO THE POETS OF RATNAGIRI DISTRICT, 1953-57.

continued

TABLE No. 13 (contd.)

STATISTICS OF EXPORTS FROM THE PORTS OF RATNAGIRI DISTRICT, 1953-57.

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