INDIAN MARKET OF GUAR GUM

Indian Guar Gum Market

Guar has been cultivated in India and Pakistan for ages for use of its tender pods as fresh vegetables and other parts of the plant to be used as cattle feed.

Guar is an important leguminous crop of arid and semi-arid regions. It is cultivated in northwestern states of India mainly Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. Rajasthan ranks first in the area of cultivation and production. India alone contributes more than 80% of global guar production. The by-product of gum extraction process is a preferred animal feed as it contains 40% protein.

Guar is also known to be cultivated in Texas, USA, some parts of South Africa, Malawi etc., but not in very large commercial quantities. In India the sowing season for guar is end of July and it is harvested during November (usually 90 days crop).

For effective guar cultivation, the crop needs two rainfalls before sowing, one rainfall when the crop buds out and another rainfall when the crop comes up well and blossoming starts. Then it requires plenty of sunshine and dry weather to come up really well. During harvesting period it again needs good sunshine in order to dry up and become usable for industries.

Guar has been traditionally an annual crop cultivated in those areas, which are dependent upon monsoon rains. However, due to higher prices of guar during the second half of nineties and early twenties, farmers have been encouraged to cultivate second crop of guar in irrigated farms, which is harvested during September. This additional crop has played a major role in checking unwanted hoarding and speculating in guar. Also, it suffices any shortfall in the main crop that is harvested during November.

Guar Gum is derived from the seeds of the guar plant ‘Cyamopsis tetragonalobus’ belongs to the family Leguminosae. Guar Gum Powder is a white to yellowish white powder. It is almost odourless and fine powder. Guar Gum is available in different mesh sizes and viscosity. The guar seed consists of three parts: the seed coat (14-17%), the endosperm (35-42%), and the germ (43-47%). It is from the endosperm that guar gum is derived, which is the primary marketable product of the plant. This spherical-shaped endosperm contains significant amounts of galactomannan gum (19 to 43% of the whole seed), which forms a viscous gel in cold water.

India has been a dominant player in the context of guar and guar gum in the world market. The Arab traders introduced the crop in India and the place responded well to the crop’s cause. It has been the major producer of guar seeds in the world. India’s production contributes to 80% of the world’s total production figuring up to 6 lakh tons. Rajasthan wholly retains the credit for India’s position producing 70% of the production itself. But it has been observed that there is a lack of stability in India’s performance due to the fluctuations in the rainfall level in the country.

Guar is largely consumed as a vegetable in the Indian subcontinent. It is also used in making pickles. 25000 tons of the total production in the country constitutes to the domestic market. Guar gum has a vast range of industrial applications and the major share of demand comes from various industrial sectors only.

Production area in India:

India produces 600000 lakh tons of guar annually i.e. the maximum level of production in the world. It contributes to around 80% share in the world’s total production. Rajasthan can be termed as the largest guar producing state in the world as it dominates the Indian production scenario contributing to around 420000 tons of this crop i.e. over 70% of the total production in India. Haryana and Gujarat place themselves at the second and third positions regarding the production in India with 12% and 11% respectively. In Rajasthan, the districts where guar production is done are Churu, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Nagaur, Hanuman Garh, Jodhpur, Ganganagar, Jaipur, Sirohi, Dausa, Jhunjhunu and Sikar. The districts in Haryana indulged in the production of guar are Bhiwani, Gurgaon, Mahendragrh and Rewari and the districts in Gujarat are Kutch, Banaskantha, Mehsana, Sabarkantha, Vadodara and Ahmedabad

Market Influencing Factors:

• Changes in production due rainfall fluctuation
• Demand and supply mismatch
• Hoarding and black marketing
• Government policies

Major Trading Market:

The major trading centers of guar and its derivatives in India. 

The main markets are in the Rajasthan - Jodhpur, Bikaner, Nokha, Nagaur, Merta

Guar is also traded in the various Indian commodity exchanges like National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange ltd, Multi Commodity Exchange of India ltd, National Multi Commodity Exchange of India ltd and Bikaner Commodity Exchange Ltd.