BANKING TRADE AND COMMERCE

REGULATED MARKETS

The trade in agricultural produce was frought with several irregulari- ties and malpractices which were highly detrimental to the interests of the agriculturists in the past. The ignorance and poverty of the agriculturists enabled the traders to exploit them. Realising the adverse effects of the malpractices on marketing of agricultural produce, the Royal Commission on Agriculture (1927) recommended to the Government the necessity of regulating the trade in agricultural produce. Subsequently, various committees also stressed the need for extending protection to the agriculturists in the profitable disposal of marketable surplus by establishing regulated markets. Accordingly the Government of Central Provinces enacted the Central Provinces and Berar Cotton Markets Act in 1932. This enactment was amended in 1937. The trade in foodgrains was regulated under the Central Provinces and Berar Agricultural Produce Markets Act of 1935. The then Government of Madhya Pradesh enacted the Madhya Pradesh Agricultural Produce Markets (Amendment) Act in 1954.

After the formation of the State of Maharashtra, the Government enacted a unified enactment, viz, Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Markets (Regulation) Act in 1963 which was made applicable to the entire State. This Act prescribed a uniform pattern of regulation in all districts of the State. The principal objectives of the present Act are, (1) to bring about equity in bargaining power among the agriculturists and traders, (2) to promote mutual confidence, (3) to prevent malpractices, and (4) to give a fair deal to the peasants.

Under the provisions of this Act, the market committees comprise elected representatives of agriculturists and of traders as well as nominated members from Government and local bodies. They are under the overall control of the Director of Agricultural Marketing and Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Maharashtra State, Pune. The Co-operation and Industries Officer of the Zilla Parishad looks after the working of the market committees in the district, and guides them in respect of their day-to-day affairs. The officials of the market committee supervise marketing operations at all stages. The methods of sale and purchase are prescribed by the officials, and adherence to them is supervised. Disputes between agriculturists and traders are solved by arbitration. The functionaries in the market, viz. general commission agents (adatyas) weighmen and hamals are licensed by the market committee.

The Act has defined the market charges deductible from the sales proceeds. The market committee does not allow the traders to deduct unauthorised market charges, such as, dharmadaya, goshala, kasar and sut as also temple charges. The authorised market charges include, market cess, adat commission, weighing charges and hamali. This has saved the agriculturists from avoidable loss.

The price of agricultural produce on the market yard is determined by open agreement. The produce is arranged in heaps or in bullock carts. The general commission agents (adatyas) serve as intermediaries between the agriculturists and traders. They are given a certain amount of commission as a percentage of sales proceeds. The prospective buyers inspect the produce before bidding the price. If the price is agreed upon the general commission agent prepares an agreement paper mentioning the agreed price. All these operations are supervised by the officials of the market committee.

After the finalisation of the sale agreement, the buyer takes the delivery of the foodgrains on the market yard where the weighment is done by authorised weighmen. The weighment in respect of cotton is done at the premises of the ginning factories. The buyer takes the delivery of cotton at the ginning premises only. This becomes necessary because of the lack of ample space for weighing of cotton at the market yard. The buyer is required to make the payment of sales proceeds on the same day to the agriculturist.

The Act prescribes that the sale of agricultural produce within the official market area which is declared for the purpose should be done at the premises of the market yard only. The market committee encourages the agriculturists to bring produce of standard quality to the market yard. This assures better price for their product.

The market committees provide the valuable facility of dissemination of market news and information about prices prevailing at other important markets. The daily prices and arrivals are displayed on the notice board every day. Market news from the All India Radio (Akashwani) are also relayed at the market yard for the benefit of the agriculturists.

It may be noted that there has been good progress in the field of regulation of agricultural marketing in the district during the last ten years. The application of the consolidated Maharashtra Agricultural Markets (Regulation) Act of 1963 has accelerated the growth of regulated markets. This Act has guaranteed an assured income to the market committees by prescribing a higher rate of market fee. The Act has regularised the market practices and the role of the market functionaries. The better income that accrues to the market committees enables them to perform a good job of regulation of marketing.

All the principal centres of trade in the district, viz., Wardha, Arvi, Hinganghat, Pulgaon and Sindi have been brought under the purview of the Act.

Wardha.

The cotton trade at Wardha was regulated for the first time in 1937 under the Central Provinces and Berar Cotton Markets Act of 1932. Regulation of the cotton market was followed by the establishment of the grain market which was brought under the purview of the Central Provinces and Berar Agricultural Produce Markets Act of 1935 in 1945. The orange market was regulated under the Central Provinces and Berar Agricultural Produce Markets Act of 1935 in 1960. After the merger of Vidarbha in Maharashtra State it was found necessary to have a unified Act regulating agricultural marketing throughout the State. The Government, therefore, enacted the unified Act viz., the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act in 1963. This enactment was made applicable to the Wardha market in May 1967. All the operations at present are governed under this Act.

The jurisdiction of the market extends over an area within a radius of four miles from the market yard, while the market serves the area within a radius of 20 miles. The market committee comprises 14 members consisting of 7 representatives of cultivators, 5 representatives of traders and one representative each of the Zilla Parishad and the Municipal Council.

The commodities regulated in this market are: cotton (ginned and unginned), wheat, jowar, tur, mug, bajri, kultha, udid, gram, mot, linseed, sesamum and groundnut. Of these, cotton, tur and wheat are the most important commodities from the point of view of turnover. The statistics of the turnover and value of trade in various commodities handled at Wardha market are given below.

TABLE No. 21.

VOLUME OF TRADE TRANSACTED AT WARDHA MARKET

(Arrivals in Quintals and Value in Rs.).

The methods of sale and purchase are governed as per the provisions in the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act of 1963 which are mentioned above. The sales proceeds are collected by the general commission agents from the traders, and are paid to the cultivators on the same day. The payment is sometimes delayed because of the lack of advances to the traders by the banks.

The number of various market functionaries who were licensed by the market committee in 1967-68 is given below:—

The market charges authorised by the market authorities are mentioned below:—

The position regarding income and expenditure of the market committee is shown below:—

The financial position of the market committee has improved considerably due to the new enactment which assures better income to the market committee.

The present market yard which is adjacent to the railway station is very spacious and convenient. It provided ameniti, such as, a godoen, office building, rest house for farmers, drinking water, barbed wire fencing for grain market plot, etc.

The grading system was introduced in this market from 1963. The statistics of the quantity and value of the graded commodities are furnished below:—

TABLE No. 22.

STATISTICS OF QUANTITY AND VALUE OF THE GRADED COMMODITIES
IN WARDHA MARKET.

Wardha is an important cotton market in the district. The volume of cotton trade amounts, on an average, to 1,05,646 quintals, valued at about Rs. 1,73,67,689 per annum. The varieties of cotton cultivated and traded at Wardha are L 147, 1007, AK 235, and 197/3. There are three ginning and pressing factories where all of the raw cotton is processed and baled. The cotton bales are exported by railways as well as by road to the terminal markets.

There are 14 wholesale traders of cotton who have formed an association to solve problems confronting the trade.

Arvi

Arvi is an important regulated market which was established under the Central Provinces and Berar Cotton Markets Act of 1932 in 1939. The trade in foodgrains and other agricultural produce was brought under regulation in 1959 under the Central Provinces and Berar Agricultural Produce Markets Act of 1935. At present the trade in all agricultural produce is brought under the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act of 1963.

The regulated commodities at Arvi market include cotton, tur, tur dal, jowar, wheat, groundnut, mug, gram, linseed, chillis, udid, bajri and sesamum. Agricultural produce from the Arvi tahsil as well as from parts of Wardha tahsil and Morshi and Chandur tahsils of Amravati district is assembled at this market. Arvi is connected by a very good approach road to the Bombay-Nagpur national highway. It is also connected by good roads to Wardha and Pulgaon. The Pulgaon-Arvi narrow gauge railway line also serves commercial traffic.

Arvi is an important market in respect of the transactions in cotton and tur. The annual turnover of cotton trade exceeds Rs. 2.40 crores at Arvi market. The following "able gives the figures of turnover of trade at Arvi.

TABLE No. 23.

STATEMENT SHOWING THE ANNUAL ARRIVALS AND VALUE OF
AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES FOR 1965-66 AT ARVI, DISTRICT WARDHA.

During 1965-66, co-operative marketing societies transacted 13,587 quintals of cotton, 4,450 quintals (valued at Rs. 2,26,950) of jowar and 460 quintals (valued at Rs. 39,100) of tur in the Arvi market.

Bombay is the principal destination of cotton exports. About 60 per cent, of the cotton is exported to Bombay while Ahmadabad and Kanpur come next in order as destinations of cotton export. Tur is exported mainly to Madras and Bombay. Arvi market has commercial ties with Bombay, Ahmadabad, Nagpur, Amravati, Akola, Madras, etc.

The market functionaries licensed by the market committee in 1966-67 comprised 38 general commission agents (adatyas), 3 brokers, 16 traders, 3 retailers, 6 weighmen, 17 hamals and 61 assistants. Market cess is levied at the rate of 30 paise per Rs. 100 of sale proceeds. It is collected from the sales proceeds to be paid to the agriculturist. The market cess on sales of cattle and sheep and goats is one rupee and 50 paise per head, respectively. The general commission agent is authorised to charge commission at the rate of 60 paise per Rs. 100 from the sellers. Besides, charges in respect of weighment, cleaning, sieving and filling of bags are levied on the agriculturist.

There is a permanent market yard which provides facilities, such as, shed, godown, rest house and potable water.

All the transactions on the market yard are under the supervision of the market committee. The price of agricultural produce is determined by open agreement, and not by open auction, after giving due weightage to the quality of the produce and other factors. The day-to-day changes in prices and quantity of arrivals are notified on the notice board for information of the agriculturists. Weighment of foodgrains is done on the market premises by licensed weighmen, while cotton is weighed on weigh bridges in the premises of the ginning factories. Payments to the agriculturist are made on the same day. The genuine grievances of the concerned parties are also looked into.

The facility of grading of agricultural produce is made available in outs market. The State Warehousing Corporation has provided warehouses with a total capacity of 5,000 bags. The market committee recently constructed a godown with an estimated capacity to store 3,500 bags. Besides, there are a few godowns maintained by private parties and banks.

The price fluctuations in this market depend to a great extent upon the market conditions at Bombay, Ahmadabad, Surat, Madras, Amravati and Nagpur.

Hinganghat.

Prior to 1939, Hinganghat cotton market was under the control of the Hinganghat municipality. It was brought under the regulation of the Central Provinces and Berar Cotton Markets Act of 1932 in 1939, and placed under the active control of a representative body, viz., Hinganghat Cotton Market Committee, in January 1940. The market committee could not succeed in bringing the marketing of foodgrains under regulation and control for a number of years. The marketing of foodgrains was, however, subsequently brought under regulation from May 1, 1960 which coincided with the formation of the present State of Maharashtra. At present the market is regulated under the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act of 1963, and the following commodities are under regulation: cotton (LI 147 and AK/277 varieties), jowar, wheat, sesamum, linseed, tur, tur dal, mug, kultha, and gram.

The jurisdiction of the market extends over an area of twenty miles around Hinganghat town, and it serves the entire tahsil. The market yard is advantageously situated and occupies an area of about seven acres. It provides a weighing shed, a rest house and other minor facilities. The market functionaries include 7 cotton purchasers, 35 grain purchasers, 6 grain brokers, 30 general commission agents and 18 weighmen who are licensed by the market committee.

The following table gives the statistics of arrivals in this market during 1967-68.

TABLE No. 24

TURNOVER OF TRADE AT HINGANGHAT AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE MARKET
DURING 1967-68.

A bulk of the agricultural produce from the Hinganghat tahsil is assembled in this market. Besides, a considerable amount of cotton and foodgrains is received in this market from some parts of Wardha, Warora, Kelapur and Umrer tahsils. The produce is brought by the agriculturists in bullock carts. The sellers sell their produce with the help of general commission agents. The produce is auctioned and general rates of standard varieties and qualities are announced. Quality of the produce receives due weightage in price. After the bargain is agreed, the seller takes his cotton produce to the ginning factories where it is weighed. Weighing of foodgrains is done on the market yard. Payments are made on the same day.

Cotton is ginned and pressed in the local ginning and pressing factories. A considerable quantity of cotton is consumed by the two cotton textile mills in the town. The rest of the baled cotton is exported to Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Nagpur, etc. Tur dal is exported mainly to Madras, and also to Bombay and Gujarat markets. Sesamum goes to Madras, Bhusawal and Warora, while mug is sent mainly to Bengal. Kultha is exported to Kolhapur.

A brief account of the cotton trade at Hinganghat for which it is famous deserves a mention here. Hinganghat is said to be the oldest cotton market in the region. Raw cotton from the districts of Yeotmal, Chandrapur, Wardha and Nagpur used to be assembled here. The cotton produce arrived at this centre was renowned for its superior quality and was highly in demand in Bombay and even the textile centres in Great Britain. Purchasers from various parts of India, such as, Rallis India Limited., Volkart Bros., Ghosho (a Japanese Company), etc. had dealings with this market. Besides, a number of purchasers from Nagpur, Badnera, Akola and Amravati used cotton purchased from Hinganghat. The importance of Hinganghat, however, gradually declined after 1930. Besides the disastrous effects of the Great Depression, the organisation of a number of markets, after 1930, at Wardha, Yeotmal, Wani, Warora, Pandharkawada, etc., diverted the cotton trade from Hinganghat. The local textile mills were also instrumental to closing the market for competition from outside.

There are two cotton textile mills which are engaged in spinning as well as weaving at Hinganghat. Besides, there are three ginning and pressing factories, nine oil mills and four dal mills.

Banking finance is provided by branches of the State Bank of India, the Punjab National Bank, the Bank of Maharashtra, and the District Central Co-operative Bank. The commercial banks give advances against warehouse receipts in respect of cotton, cotton seed, sesamum, linseed and foodgrains. A warehouse owned by the Maharashtra State Warehousing Corporation was established at Hinganghat in January 1963. The quantity of goods stored in the warehouse amounted to 6,438 quintals in 1963, 4,793 quintals in 1964, 4,896 quintals in 1965 and 4,465 quintals in 1966. The warehouse has a total capacity to store 7,847 bags. The warehousing charges are fixed at 20 paise for foodgrains, 15 paise for groundnut, 18 paise for cotton seed and 21 paise for chillis, per bag per month. Co-operative societies, traders and some agriculturists are found to be taking advantage of this facility. There are a number of private godowns also.

Hinganghat is situated on the Delhi-Madras Grand Trunk railway. Hence, there is no problem of transportation of goods to distant markets. It is also connected by good roads to Nagpur, Wardha, Warora, Chandra-pur and Yeotmal. Cotton trade is brisk from December to March, and that in foodgrains from January to April.

Co-operative marketing has made some progress in this market. The Hinganghat Tahsil Agricultural Co-operative Sale and Purchase Society is the only co-operative institution engaged in marketing at Hinganghat. The society deals only in cotton produce. It purchases cotton under the cotton pool system and gives advances to the agriculturists against their forthcoming cotton produce. The society distributes the cotton seed to the agriculturist after ginning good quality produce. This assures the cultivators of unadulterated good seed and better price for the cotton produce.

Pulgaon.

The Pulgaon cotton market was established in February 1937, whereas the grain market was regulated from January 1961. The market is regulated at present under the Maharashtra Agricultural produce Marketing (Regulation) Act of 1963. The commodities regulated in this market include cotton, wheat, jowar, tur, tur dal, mug, udid, gram, groundnut and linseed. The jurisdiction of the market extends over a radius of 14 miles from the market yard. There is a permanent market yard conveniently located near the railway station. However the Pulgaon market commands a smaller area than the markets at Wardha, Arvi and Hinganghat.

Agricultural produce is assembled at the market yard by the agriculturists from the surrounding villages in Wardha tahsil. There are 15 general commission agents, 10 traders and 16 assistants licensed by the market committee. Weighment of foodgrains is done on the market yard, while that of cotton is done at the premises of ginning factories where the purchasers take the delivery of the commodity.

The turnover of trade at this market amounted to 5,145 quintals valued at Rs. 5,24,025 in 1966-67. The income of the market committee totalled at Rs. 6,938.78 (Rs. 5,807.08 cotton market and Rs. 1,131.70 grain market), while the expenditure amounted to Rs. 4,009.65 in 1966-67.

It is however an important centre of cotton trade, and is quite famous as a cotton market. The rich cotton tract has encouraged the establishment of a cotton textile mill at Pulgaon as early as 1889. It has a virtual monopoly as regards the purchase of cotton. Raw cotton is ginned in local ginning and pressing factories. After meeting the requirements of the textile mill mentioned above, cotton bales are exported to distant markets such as Bombay, Madras, Kanpur and Ahmedabad. Cotton bales are exported mainly by railways. Being situated on the Bombay-Nagpur-Calcutta trunk railway route, there is no transport problem. Besides, a narrow gauge railway line branches off from Pulgaon to Arvi. The ready railway facilities have contributed significantly to the commercial prosperity of Pulgaon.

The prices of cotton at Pulgaon market vary in conformity to those at Bombay. The period of brisk business is from November to March. After April cotton trading virtually comes to an end.

The other commodities exported from Pulgaon market are tur dal, groundnut oil, groundnut cake, cotton seed, etc. Groundnut oil is exported to Bombay and Nagpur, while groundnut cake is sent to Amravati, Nagpur and Nasik.

The Bank of Maharashtra is the principal agency supplying commercial credit. In the absence of a government warehouse, storage facilities are provided by private godowns.

Sindi.

The cotton market at Sindi has been regulated from 1949, while the trade in foodgrains and other agricultural produce has been brought under regulation from 1952. Till 1960 the market was under the overall control of the municipality, after which it was brought under the management of the Zilla Parishad. At present marketing of agricultural produce is under the purview of the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act of 1963, and a market committee is instituted under the Act. The jurisdiction of the committee extends over an area of five miles radius around the market yard.

The regulated commodities in this market are: cotton, tur, tur dal, wheat, mug, linseed, kultha, mot, gram, udid and sesamum. There is a permanent market yard which provides a rest house for agriculturists as well as traders, and a tin shed. There are six general commission agents, four traders and three weighmen in this market.

Sindi is the smallest among the regulated markets in the district. A considerable volume of agricultural produce from the surrounding areas is diverted to Wardha and Nagpur markets. This is mainly because the prices offered to the agriculturist at Sindi are much lower than those prevailing outside.

Cotton and tur are the important items of trade in this market. The average turnover of trade in various commodities in this market is given below:

Cotton is exported to Nagpur, Bombay and Ahmedabad while tur dal is sent to Bombay, Saurashtra and Madras. Most of the other produce is consumed locally.

The income of the market committee from various sources, such as, market cess, licence fee., etc; amounted to Rs. 2,140, while the total expenditure was Rs, 2,123 in 1966-67.

Co-operative Marketing.

A gradual progress could be noticed in the field of co-operative marketing in the district. It is mainly confined to cotton transactions. There are six co-operative societies acting as general commission agents and conducting business under the cotton pool system. Under this system the co-operatives purchase cotton produce and get it ginned and processed. They take out good unadulterated cotton seed and distribute it to the cultivators at a stipulated price. This protects the seed from adulteration and preserves its purity. The co-operatives give advances to the needy cultivators against their expected cotton crop. The sale of agricultural produce through co-operatives thus protects the interests of the agriculturists. It also encourages the linking of credit with marketing.

The six co-operative marketing societies are located at Wardha, Hin-ganghat, Arvi, Karanja, Sindi and Kharangna in this district. Of the total turnover of cotton trade, viz., 2,12,368 quintals at Wardha, Pulgaon and Deoli, the co-operative marketing societies in Wardha tahsil accounted for about 1,000 quintals in 1967-68. The co-operative marketing societies in Arvi tahsil handled a turnover of 23,169 quintals out of the total of 1,80,861 quintals, while the co-operatives in Hinganghat tahsil dealt in 4,187 quintals out of a total turnover of 74,832 quintals of cotton in 1967-68. The marketing societies, together, pooled, 38,356 quintals of cotton and prepared 5,640 bales in the same year. These bales were sold to government managed textile mills and private traders as follows:

(1) 100 bales were sold through the Maharashtra State Co-operative Marketing Federation, Bombay.

(2) 560 bales to government managed mills.

(3) 4,695 bales to private traders, 285 bales, however, remained unsold.

The quality cotton seed obtained under the cotton pool system was procured by the Agriculture Department. The seed was distributed through the co-operative societies on a consignment basis. The quantity of the cotton seed procured was as follows:

Another important work done by co-operative marketing societies is the linking of credit with marketing. During 1967-68, an amount of Rs. 8,82,233 was recovered through the linking of credit with marketing.

The tahsiiwise figures are given below:

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