BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE

EXPORTS

The position of export [ For the purpose of this Gazetteer, the word export is used to connote the goods sent out of this district.] trade in the last quarter of the nineteenth century could he described as under:—

"The chief exports are molasses, grain, earthnuts, turmeric, chillis, cotton, timber and cloth. Since the opening of bridged and well-made roads, molasses, the chief export of the district has of late come into increasing demands, and the cultivation of sugarcane has greatly spread. Millet, wheat, chillis, turmeric and tobacco arc sent to Bombay by Chiplun, chiefly from Satara, Karad and Valva, by the local and Gujar Vanis who get these articles from the Kunbi husbandmen either in payment of debts or on cash payment. Cotton is sent from Valva and Tas-gaon in bullock carts to Chiplun by Bhatias and Gujarat Vanis who buy unginned cotton from the busbandmen, have it cleared by hand-machines, and pack it in bales, each weighing about 250 pounds (10 maunds). As there is growing import of European and Bombay piece goods, the growing of cotton has lately fallen off. Coarse cloth, cotton sheets or pasodis, and blankets are chiefly sent to other districts.' [Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Vol. XIX, Satara, 1885. ]

At present, the chief items of export trade are groundnut, tur meric, gul, jowar, chillis, cotton and coriander seed. The following paragraphs describe the direction and mode of export trade of principal commodities.

Turmeric

Turmeric (halad) is one of the most important items of export from Sangli district. In fact a major portion of turmeric trade in Maharashtra State is carried on at Sangli. Turmeric is exported from Sangli to Bombay, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar. Delhi and foreign countries in the middle east, viz., Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and to Great Britain, America and France [The middle-east countries as well as the European countries import Indian turmeric mainly for the manufacture of dye-stuffs. Turmeric is a good, earner of foreign exchange.].

There is a forward market in turmeric. The forward transactions at Sangli are on such a large scale that the entire turmeric trade in India is affected by fluctuations at Sangli. The market review of day-to-day transactions at Sangli is published in the Times of India and other leading newspapers.

The turmeric trade at Sangli amounts to about 1,39,965 quintals (3,75,000 Bengali maunds) per year. It forms quite a sizeable part of the total turmeric trade of India. [The total turnover of turmeric production in India is over 7,46,000 quintals (20 lakhs of Bengali maunds) per year. Statistics of turnover at Sangli and other centres in the country for the year 1961-62 and 1962-63 are given below: —

]

There are two varieties of turmeric at Sangli, viz., Jawari and Karhadi. The jawari variety is grown mainly in the southern part of Sangli, and in Vita, Tasgaon, Khanapur and Chinchali. The Karhadi variety mainly comes from Satara district and Walwa taluka of Sangli district. Both these varieties are regarded to be superior to those in other parts of India. They possess higher sugar contents, and their fingers (halakund) can be broken easily. The Sangli turmeric is popularly known as Rajapuri halad. To obtain marketable turmeric, the fingers are separated from the bulbs and chora. Chora is used as seed for sowing.

The agriculturists bring the produce to the market which is openly auctioned under the supervision of the market committee. The general commission agents act as intermediaries between the agriculturists and purchasers. There are also purchasing agents who purchase the produce under instructions received from the respective businessmen outside the district as well as from the State.

Though warehousing facilities on scientific lines are inadequate, the Central Warehousing Corporation of India has been rendering remarkable help in this respect. There are private godowns as well. A large bulk of the commodity is, however, stored in underground pits called pava. Turmeric can be stored in a pava for two to three years without being spoilt. Turmeric traders, however, prefer to store it in pits than in the warehouses.

Groundnut.

Groundnut is one of the most important commercial crops of Sangli. It occupies an area of about 81,139.54 hectares (2,00,500 acres) in the district, and is grown in almost all the talukas. The Tasgaon and Khanapur talukas are more affluent in groundnut production. Sangli, Tasgaon, Vita, Islampur and Takari are the most important centres of groundnut trade. The turnover of groundnut transactions at each of the centres is given below:—

A very large part of the total groundnut produce is crushed at oil mills in the district. There are oil mills at Sangli, Tasgaon, Vita, Islampur and Miraj. Oil as well as groundnut seed are exported to Bombay, Karnatak, Konkan and Poona. Nearly 75 per cent of the traffic in groundnut and oil is by road, whereas the railways transport less than 25 per cent. Groundnut cake which is used as a cattle feed as well as manure finds a very good local demand. It is also exported to Kolhapur and Poona.

The commercial importance of groundnut is increasing since the last many decades. The starting of the Vanaspati industry has led to an increase in the demand for groundnut oil. This has encouraged the farmers to increase the production of groundnut.

The procedure of sale and purchase of groundnut at the regulated markets is as per the regulations laid down in the Bombay Agricultural Produce Markets Act of 1939. This has minimised the incidence of malpractices such as false weights, unauthorised deductions and low bidding.

Gul

Gul (jaggery) is an important item of export trade in Sangli district. Large-scale sugarcane cultivation, which occupies about 10,117.150 hectares (25.000 acres) of land, has encouraged gul manufacturing on an extensive scale. The production of gul in all the talukas of Sangli district is more than the needs of local markets. It has been one of the chief items of exports for more than the past 50 years.

The turnover of gul trade at Sangli was 5,44,252 bags in 1959-60, 8 45 631 bags in 1960-61 and 5,16.936 bags in 1961-62. The value of gul traded at Takari was Rs. 2,94,909 in 1959-60, Rs. 2,31,570 in 1960-61 and Rs. 1,51,950 in 1961-62. At Tasgaon, 7,226 lumps (dhepa) were sold in 1960-61 and 5,603 lumps in 1961-62. The Vita market accounted for 1,280 quintals valued at Rs. 31,980 in 1960-61 and for 2,005 quintals valyed at Rs. 87,744 in 1961-62. The volume of turnover at Miraj was 2,455 bags in 1959-60, 2,743 in 1960-61 and 1.723 in 1961-62. The turnover of gul sales at Jath was 16,269 bags in 1960-61 and 14,363 bags in 1961-62. [The statistics of turnover of trade given in this paragraph pertain to the transactions the respective market yards.]

The above mentioned markets are export centres. The principal destinations of export are Bombay, Poona, Jalgaon, Dhulia, Gujarat and Karnatak region. Nearly 25 per cent of the total exports go to Karnatak. The bulk of the traffic is by motor trucks.

Trade in gul is regulated under the Bombay Agricultural Produce Markets Act of 1939. It is assembled at the market yards by agriculturists and sold by open auction through general commission agents and co-operative societies. The general commission agents or purchasers export the merchandise to distant markets.

The business is brisk from January to May.

Jowar.

Jowar occupies about 2,59,201.38 hectares (6,40,500 acres) of the total cropped area in the district. This staple food crop is grown in all the talukas.

Sangli, Vita, Islampur, Miraj, Jath, Tasgaon and Shirala are the main assembling and distributing markets of jowar. The destinations of exports are Bombay, Kolhapur, Poona, Konkan and Gujarat. Bulk of the export trade is transported mainly by road, while railways account for only a fraction of the transport load.

The turnover of jowar trade at Sangli was 76,040 bags in 1959-60. 82,346 bags n 1960-61 and 72,279 in 1961-62. The turnover of jowar trade at Miraj was 57,346 bags in 1959-60, 54,217 bags in 1960-61 and 51,663 in 1961-62. The turnover of trade at Jath was 9,666 bags in 1959-60, 12,273 bags in 1960-61 and 12,704 in 1961 62. Vita accounted for 1,208 quintals of jowar trade in 1960-61 and 1,432 quintals in 1961-62. Jowar trade at Tasgaon amounted to 22,490 bags in 1958-59, 35,116 bags in 1960-61 and 22,716 bags ir 1961-62. The turnover of jowar trade at Takari market amounted to Rs. 8,39,271 in 1959-60, Rs. 11,47,380 in 1960-61 and Rs. 6,40,647 in 1961-62. [The statistics of turnover of trade given in this paragraph pertain to the trans-actions the respective market yards.]

Jowar trade also is regulated under the Bombay Agricultural Produce Markets Act of 1939. As such, all the transactions are carried out under the supervision of the market committees.

Other Exports.

The other items of export trade from Sangli district are chillis, cotton, sugar, coriander seed, math, tur and cattle. Chillis are exported by road to the Konkan region. Cotton is used mostly by the cotton mills at Sangli and Madhavanagar. Cloth is exported to Satara, Karnatak and Kolhapur. Ginned cotton is sent to Sholapiir. Coriander seed is mostly sent to Madras, Coimbatore, Bangalore, and markets on the Southern Railway. Tamarind is exported to Bombay and places in South India.

The main centres from which these commodities are exported are Sangli, Miraj, Tasgaon, Vita and Islampur.

Sangli is an export centre of coarse cloth and handloom cloth manufactured at Sangli, Madhavanagar and Budhgaon. Since the establishment of a sugar factory at Madhavanagar, sugar is also exported to other districts in Maharashtra.

TOP