Farmers across India bet on guar as prices see a sharp rise
Guar gum prices have jumped to Rs 30,000 per quintal from Rs 3,000 per quintal a year ago while guar seed prices have gone up to Rs 350 per kg from Rs 30 per kg.
By Tapash Talukdar, ET Bureau | Updated:
MUMBAI: Aplam Raju, a 37-year-old new-generation farmer near Agali in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district, has sown his maiden guar crop this year after the beans yielded a five-fold jump in returns over last year. Guar is mainly grown in Rajasthan, Haryana and the Saurashtra region of Gujarat .
“We too want to strike it rich in no time,” exclaims Raju. He is not alone in this new venture. “Around 150 farmers in Anantapur district have approached us for help in sourcing seeds to grow guar crops on more than 300 acres,” says Venkateshwara Rao, deputy director (seeds), agriculture department , Andhra Pradesh. Not just in Andhra, farmers across India are in awe of the humble bean. And not without reason.
Guar gum prices have jumped to Rs 30,000 per quintal from Rs 3,000 per quintal a year ago while guar seed prices have gone up to Rs 350 per kg from Rs 30 per kg. Guar gum is traditionally an ingredient for sauces, ice cream and confectionaries. But the stellar rise in its price is due to its use in the petroleum business.
The gum is used as a sealant in the hydraulic fracturing process used for extracting oil and gas from shale. “Farmers in UP, Karnataka and Maharashtra are calling us to understand crop patterns , yielding capacity and marketing methods so that they could sow the crop for the next season that begins in July,” says PK Hisariya, president, All India Guar Gum Growers’ Association.
Most of the crop is marketed to overseas buyers in Rajasthan but farmers in other regions of the country are ready to go the extra mile in hauling their harvest to the desert state. “The cost of growing the crop is almost a tenth of the export prices.
It’s a big opportunity for us to shift to guar,” says Mangat Patil, a farmer in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon. He will be sowing guar beans for the first time on his one-acre land. India, the world’s largest producer of guar beans and gum, exported more than 400,000 lakh tonnes till March 2011. Nearly 80% of exports are to the US, which has been buying from India as its own production is unable to meet the growing demand.
“We too want to strike it rich in no time,” exclaims Raju. He is not alone in this new venture. “Around 150 farmers in Anantapur district have approached us for help in sourcing seeds to grow guar crops on more than 300 acres,” says Venkateshwara Rao, deputy director (seeds), agriculture department , Andhra Pradesh. Not just in Andhra, farmers across India are in awe of the humble bean. And not without reason.
Guar gum prices have jumped to Rs 30,000 per quintal from Rs 3,000 per quintal a year ago while guar seed prices have gone up to Rs 350 per kg from Rs 30 per kg. Guar gum is traditionally an ingredient for sauces, ice cream and confectionaries. But the stellar rise in its price is due to its use in the petroleum business.
The gum is used as a sealant in the hydraulic fracturing process used for extracting oil and gas from shale. “Farmers in UP, Karnataka and Maharashtra are calling us to understand crop patterns , yielding capacity and marketing methods so that they could sow the crop for the next season that begins in July,” says PK Hisariya, president, All India Guar Gum Growers’ Association.
Most of the crop is marketed to overseas buyers in Rajasthan but farmers in other regions of the country are ready to go the extra mile in hauling their harvest to the desert state. “The cost of growing the crop is almost a tenth of the export prices.
It’s a big opportunity for us to shift to guar,” says Mangat Patil, a farmer in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon. He will be sowing guar beans for the first time on his one-acre land. India, the world’s largest producer of guar beans and gum, exported more than 400,000 lakh tonnes till March 2011. Nearly 80% of exports are to the US, which has been buying from India as its own production is unable to meet the growing demand.
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