Abstract

Among the manufactured products of sugarcane, jaggery takes the first place. Its consumption is about two to two and a half times that of white sugar (both indigenous and imported). This shows that jaggery making as a cottage industry is very important in Indian rural economy. In recent years, it has been observed that the cane cultivator is an adept in the art of jaggery manufacture but is uncertain of his legitimate returns owing to the several disabilities he is suffering from, such as chronic indebtedness, want of ready money to meet cultivation charges, high rates of interest charged by money lenders, etc. Besides the wide and unsteady prices for jaggery, the existence of a host of middlemen in jaggery trade, the chaotic system of weights and above all want of properly organised marketing facilities makes jaggery making, as a cottage industry, a risky proposition. With a view to study the present system of marketing and to find out the possibilities of improvement in the same, an enquiry was carried out at the Anakapalle jaggery market. With the limited facilities available to the author the enquiry was confined to this one important trade centre and the results are presented in this paper.

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