BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE

WHOLESALE TRADE CENTRES

Sangli.

Sangli is by far the most important centre of trade and commerce not only in this district but also in the entire region of south Maharashtra. The factors which have contributed to the importance of Sangli as a centre of trade are the sympathetic-attitude of the former princely state authorities and the availability of transport [As regards goods traffic, a large bulk is transported by road to Poona, Bombay Kolhapur, Sholapur, Belgaum and other centres. Goods transport by railway forms a minor part of the whole of traffic. A motor truck is available for about Rs. 300 to Rs. 400 up to Bombay.] and communications. Sangli is connected by roads to Poona, Satara, Karad, Kolhapur, Miraj, Pandharpur and Sholapur. The railway line to Miraj is also a trade route of importance.

Sangli is an entrepot centre of trade. Agricultural goods from a number of villages in the district and adjoining areas of Mysore are assembled here. The assembled merchandise is exported to Bombay, Poona, Konkan, Belgaum, Bijapur, Goa, Sholapur, Gujarat and a number of upcountry markets. Besides, it is a centre of wholesale trade in groundnut, turmeric, gul, chillis, cotton, jowar, tur, hardware, cloth, tobacco and a number of consumer goods.

The annual turnover of wholesale trade in agricultural produce alone amounts to over Rs. 6 crores. There is a forward market of turmeric trade at Sangli. Turmeric from Sangli is exported to Bombay, Poona, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi and foreign countries in the Middle East, viz., Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and also to Great Britain, America and France as well. Turmeric trade at Sangli amounts to about 1,39,965 quintals (3,75,000 Bengali maunds) per year.

Whosesale transactions in agricultural; produce, such as, groundnut, turmeric, gul, chillis, cotton, tur, gram, coriander, safflower, mug, math, udid, castor seed, jowar, bajra, wheat, maize and cattle are regulated under the Bombay Agricultural Produce Markets Act of 1939 and the Amendment Act of 1963.

Warehousing facilities are available at Sangli market. Storage for commodities on scientific lines has been provided on the market yard by the Central Warehousing Corporation since 1957. The central warehouses, constructed at a cost of Rs. 6.5 lakhs, have a storage capacity of about 4,117 metric tons or 41,000 bags. There are special types of godowns for gul and turmeric. Besides, there are a number of private godowns owned or hired by traders.

Fluctuations of prices of groundnut, jowar, cotton, bajra and many other commodities are in consonance with those at Bombay. The prices of groundnut over the period of the last seven years, except the year 1961-62, have shown an upward tendency. During 1961-62 groundnut fetched lower prices. Turmeric, gul, jowar and chillis showed a rising trend of prices during the last seven years.

During the period from November to April trading is brisk whereas June, July and August are months of quiet trade at Sangli.

Miraj.

Miraj owes much of its importance as a centre of trade and commerce to the railway facilities available there. Being a junction of the Poona-Bangalore, Miraj-Sangli, Miraj-Kolhapur and Miraj-Kurduwadi railway routes, a large trade in foodgrains and groundnut has been localised at Miraj. It has trade links with Belgaum, Bangalore, Hubli, Goa, Poona, Kolhapur and Bombay.

Miraj is a centre of wholesale trade in groundnut, jowar, wheat and bangles. Trade in groundnut, turmeric, gul, chillis, cotton, tur, gram, coriander, safflower, mug, mataki, udid, castor seed, jowar, bajra, wheat and maize is regulated under the Bombay Agricultural Produce Markets Act. In view of its importance as a foodgrains market, the Market Committee established a sub-market yard at Miraj in 1954.

Jowar is exported from Miraj to Kolhapur and Konkan by trucks. Groundnut is sent chiefly to Bombay. Between Septemher 1. 1962 and February 8, 1963, 5,000 quintals of unshelled groundnut were exported to Bombay. A large proportion of the wholesale trade in cotton, gul, chillis and turmeric has shifted from Miraj to Sangli. Cotton and gul trade was lost because of the paucity of competitive buyers at Miraj. The lack of effective demand prompted the sellers to take their goods to Sangli market.

The wholesale trade in bangles at Miraj deserves a mention. There are eight bangle dealers at Miraj. It is a distributing entre of bangles for Sangli, Satara, Belgaum and Goa. Bangles are mainly imported from Ferozabad [Ferozabad is the most important centre of bangle manufacture.] near Agra. The transactions are not on a commission basis, but involve outright transactions.

Vita.

Vita is a centre of wholesale transactions in groundnut, gul, jowar, turmeric, coriander, safflower, gram, tut and cattle. Trade n cattle, groundnut, gul and jowar is, however, more important. The annual turnover of cattle trade exceeds Rs. 21 lakhs and that of groundnut Rs. 5 lakhs. Business in all the abovementioned commodities is regulated and is supervised by the market committee.

Groundnut, gul, and jowar are the main commodities exported from Vita market. The destinations of export outside the district are Bombay, Poona, Konkan and Pandharpur. Goods are transported by (1) Chiplun-Karad-Bijapur highway and (2) Sangli-Tasgaon-Vita-Phaltan road. Agricultural produce from the nearby villages in Khanapur taluka is assembled here by agriculturists.

Tasgaon.

Tasgaon is a centre of wholesale trade in groundnut, jowar, turmeric and gul. Besides these commodities, trade in tur, safflower, bajra, gram, udid, coriander, wheat, maize, chillis, chavali, tamarind and cattle is regulated under the Bombay Agricultural Produce Markets Act. Groundnut cultivation extends over an area of 19,329.826 hectares, (47,765 acres) whereas jowar covers an area of 42,641.764 hectares (1,05,370 acres) in the Tasgaon taluka.

Most of the trade transactions are held in the market-yard. Local oil millers purchase groundnut for oil crushing. Groundnut seed as well as oil is exported from Tasgaon. The main items of export are groundnut, jowar, turmeric, gul, coriander and gram. The destinations of export trade are Sangli, Kolhapur, Karad, Nasik, Shrirampur, Belapur, Ahmadnagar, Bombay, Dhulia and Madras. The general commission agents at Tasgaon purchase the goods from the agriculturists and supply the same to traders from various places. The annual turnover or trade or an average commission agent at Tasgaon is about ten lakhs of rupees.

The period of brisk trade is from November to March. Business is lowest during the rainy season. There are four oil crushing mills at Tasgaon which export oil out of the district. There is a heavy demand for oil-cake in the district and the neighbouring district of Kolhapur. Banking facilities are available at Tasgaon. The branches of the District Central Co-operative Bank, the Urban Co-operative Bank and the Bank of Karad provide loans to traders. The main routes of trade from Tasgaon are, (1) Sangli-Tasgaon-Mayani road, (2) Karad-Tasgaon road and (3) Tasgaon-Kirloskarwadi road. Besides, railway transport is available via Bhilwadi railway station.

Islampur.

Islampur situated on the Sangli-Peth road has attracted wholesale trade from the entire Walwa taluka. Much of the wholesale trade at Takari has shifted to Islampur because of the easy transport facilities available there. It is a centre of trade in groundnut, jowar, gul, bajra, gram, tur, and coriander. Jowar and groundnut are, however, the most important items.

Groundnut is exported to Bombay, whereas jowar is sent to Kolhapur, Konkan and Poona. Islampur has trade links with Poona, Bombay, Kolhapur and towns in the Konkan. Commodities are sent out in trucks.

Jath.

Jath is a wholesale market of secondary importance. Most of the area around this town is barren and unproductive. Consequently the volume of trade is not large. The main articles of trade are jowar, groundnut, cotton, safflower, and coriander. Statistics of the average annual arrivals at the Jath market are given below: -

* Ataki is a unit used for the weighing of cottton. It is equivalent to 128 seers.

Jath has trade links with Bijapur and Pandharpur. A sizeable volume of commodities is exported to these markets. Groundnut, gram, tur, mug, matki, saffiower and cotton are exported to Bijapur, cotton is sent to Pandharpur, and chillis are sent to Bombay and Poona. Jath is famous for the weekly cattle market.

The Bank of Jath and the Urban Co-operative Bank provide for the financial requirements of the local trade.

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