DAIRY FARMING 



Ghi 



TRADE IN GHI 



Packing. 



Produc- 

 tion. 



Consump- 

 tion. 



Trade. 



Prices. 



Enhancement. 



Wholesale 

 Kates. 



Internal 

 Trans- 

 actions. 



Centres of 

 Supply. 



Expansions and 

 Contractions. 



Packing. Formerly all gM was packed in earthen jars (matkos), or 

 for transport to a distance in leathern cases (kuppas), but in recent years 

 old kerosene-oil tins or specially made tins have been employed. 



Production and Consumption. The chief (/^-producing tracts are 

 the United Provinces, Bengal, Rajputana, Central India, and the Panjab. 

 It has been estimated that about one-fourth of the total population of 

 India use 8 Ib. per head per annum. Assuming these figures to be correct, 

 this would represent a consumption of about 300,000 tons a year, or at 

 a valuation of 45 a ton, say 13 million pounds sterling. There are no 

 data by which to verify these estimates, but as they stand they are 

 suggestive of India's necessities in this direction. 



Trade in Ghi. Prices. No doubt by far the greater proportion of the 

 ghi produced in India is consumed locally, and never appears either 

 in the trade returns of internal nor of external traffic. It has been 

 ascertained that the retail price of superior gM ranges from 5d. to Is. 

 a pound. In the statement of Prices and Wages published annually 

 by the Government of India, particulars are given of the prices of ghi 

 in certain localities of Western India since 1855. These would seem 

 to show ghi selling at a lower price than the figures just mentioned, but 

 the difference between pure first-class and adulterated lower grade ghi 

 is such as to render averages misleading. Still, the official returns as they 

 stand manifest a considerable enhancement of price. Thus the average 

 for all the Bombay centres in the quinquennial period of 1855-60 was 

 19-19 rupees per maund, and in 1903, Rs. 35*32; in Sind, Rs. 17'12, and 

 in 1903, Rs. 33'28 ; in Central India and Rajputana, Rs. 24'3, and in 

 1903, Rs. 28*38. But taking the quinquennial average of 1871-5 as 100, 

 Bombay is now 112; Sind 124; and Rajputana and Central India 110. 

 In a further series of tables, Prices and Wages gives returns of the 

 wholesale rates of ghi. These, for the year 1 903 (and reduced for purpose 

 of comparison to rupees and decimals of rupees per maund), would be 

 as follows (in sequence of price) : Bengal, Rs. 34'3 ; Mysore, Rs. 34'1 ; 

 Sind, Rs. 32'3 ; Madras, Rs. 31'4 ; Panjab, Rs. 30'6 ; Berar, Rs. 30'4 ; 

 United Provinces, Rs. 29'9 ; Central Provinces, Rs. 28'8 ; and Rajputana, 

 Rs. 27*8. In a still further series of tables the prices of ghi are shown 

 for selected centres such as Calcutta, Benares, Allahabad, Lucknow, 

 Bareli, Cawnpore, Meerut, Agra, Ambala, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan 

 and Peshawar during the years 1875-6 to 1902-3. These are divided 

 into buffalo ghi, cow ghi, and each of these again subdivided into 1st 

 sort and 2nd sort. But the provincial averages just given approximate 

 very closely (as the mean between all four classes in each centre), so that 

 it is not necessary to furnish other estimates. 



internal Trade. The total internal trade in ghi, as manifested by the 

 railway returns, shows certain interesting peculiarities. The chief EXPORT- 

 ING provinces are the United Provinces, Rajputana and Central India, 

 the Central Provinces, Madras and Bombay (enumerated in order of im- 

 portance). But it is significant that the exports of the United Provinces 

 and of the Central Provinces have manifested extreme fluctuations for some 

 years past. Thus from the United Provinces the exports in 1 899-1900 were 

 236,718 cwt. ; in 1902-3, 161,670 cwt. ; in 1903-4, 140,617 cwt. ; and 

 in 1906-7, 164,222 cwt. The exports of the Central Provinces 

 manifest a decline ; thus in 1899-1900 they were 86,187 cwt.; in 1903-4, 

 63,079 cwt. ; and in 1906-7, 42,665 cwt. So also the exports of 



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