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BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE
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IMPORTS
The chief commodities of trade in the past were cotton, jowar, bajra, rice, pulses and other food-grains, besides cloth, hardware, medicines and other essential commodities. The details of the import trade during the nineteenth century as given in the old Sholapur District Gazetteer are reproduced below:—
"The following are the chief imports:—Of building materials teakwood, nails, screws, and other articles are brought from Bombay and Poona by Lingayat, Musalman and carpenter traders and are sold wholesale to the people or to petty traders who retail them in their shops. These articles are used by the rich in building houses. Of house furniture, including utensils, ready-made brass and copper mugs and other vessels are brought by Kasars from Bombay, Poona, Nasik, and Nagar and sold retail to the people in their shops which are generally in large trade centres. Kasars also import from Bombay copper and brass sheets which they make into vessels. Of wooden furniture the chief imports are chairs, tables, couches, benches, cupboards, and boxes. Of food, drinks and drugs, salt, cocoanuts, dates, oil, sugar, groceries, and spices are brought from Bombay and the Bombay Karnatak. Salt was formerly brought by Lamans on pack bullocks; it is now brought by rail. Of tools and appliances, iron is brought from Bombay and made into nails, horseshoes, and rough field tools. Of dress including ornaments, European twist piece-goods and flannel come from Bombay. A large part of the country cloth and yarn sold in the district is made locally; the rest comes from Ahmadnagar, Bhir, Jalna, Muhlingpur, Nagpur, Narayanpeth, and Yeola. Gold, silver, pearls, and jewels chiefly come from Bombay." [Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Volume XX, Sholapur, 1884, p. 264.]
Considerable changes have taken place in the import trade of the
district during the last few decades. In keeping with the changes in the general economic conditions and consumption habits of the people, the structure and direction of import trade has changed to a great extent. The important commodities of import, at present, comprise salt, cocoanuts, betelnuts, cloth, and other piece-goods, yarn, copper and other metal vessels, glassware, ironware, etc. The import of cloth includes different varieties of woollen, textiles, nylon, terylene, ready-made clothes, etc. The other important commodities imported are hardware, building material, provision articles, stationery and cutlery, medicines, utensils, electrical goods and appliances, machinery, foot-ware, watches and a number of other consumer articles.
Cloth is imported from Bombay, Ahmadabad, Madras, Malegaon and Ichalkaranji, whereas ready-made clothes are brought from Pune and Bombay. Many of the merchants place their orders directly to the mill-owners.
Stationery articles such as fountain pens, pen-holders, inks, nibs, paper, note-books, erasers, pencils, etc. are brought from Pune and Bombay. Cosmetics and cutlery goods are imported directly from Bombay and sometimes from Pune.
The electrical goods, appliances and other articles find their way in the district from Bombay, Pune, Bangalore and Calcutta. Drugs and medicines are brought from Bombay, Pune, Panvel, Ahmadnagar and Baroda. Some of the dealers bring the goods directly from the manufacturers, while others obtain their stock-in-trade from the sales representatives of the producers. Kerosene comes directly from Bombay by railway. |
