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Commodity |
| SORGHUM or JOWAR |
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| Description | Overview |
History | Cultivation pattern | Sorghum
producing
countries | Indian sorghum or
jowar market |
Major trading centers |
| Description |
Sorghum is an annual erect plant that bears a cereal seed that is
used the world over as a food and feed and for a long list of
other uses as well. It comes from the family of "Poaceae"
and grows to a height around 6 feet, though for harvesting ease,
many dwarf types of plant are also produced. The cereal crop is
perennial in nature possessing corn like leaves and bearing the
grain in a compact cluster. Approximately 30 other species are
cultivated for the sorghum genus.
The sorghum grain is an important cereal grain that is said to
be the staple food of the poor in many countries. The grain is
similar to that of maize but having more fats and proteins. This
proves beneficial for the livestock and hence is the reason of the
popularity of the crop as a feed. it is also known with different
names depending upon the geographical are including Durra,
Egyptian millet, Guinea corn, Jowar, Juwar, Milo, Shallu and Sudan
grass.
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Overview |
Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop in the world after
wheat, rice, maize and barley. It is found in the arid and semi
arid parts of the world, due to its feature of being extremely
drought tolerant. The nutritional value of sorghum is same as of
that of corn and that is why it is gaining importance as livestock
feed. Sorghum is also used for ethanol production, producing grain
alcohol, starch production, production of adhesives and paper
other than being used as food and feed. Numerous types of
genetically different sorghum are available that are broadly
categorized into four heads
- Grain sorghum (grown for grain)
- Sorgos
(grown for fodder)
- Grass
sorghum (wild sorghum)
- Broomcorn
sorghum (used in making brooms)
The popularity of the crop is clear from the
fact that it is cultivated in 99 countries in the world, major
production share contributed by the African countries. The total
world production of the cereal grain in 2005-06 was 58.9 million
metric tons, USA accounting up to 17% of the world’s total
production. Nigeria and India were on the 2nd and 3rd position in
the major producer countries’ list. Regarding the consumption
pattern, the world’s total consumption hover around 58 million
metric tons, Nigeria being at the top of the list. More than 55%
of the total production is consumed as a food for human being and
around 33% is used as fodder. The major sorghum producers in the
world with their consumption figures pertaining to the year 2005
are
World trade in sorghum is dominated by the
largest producer of the crop in the world i.e. U.S.A as most of
the production in the country accounts for export in the foreign
market. The total exports summed up to 5626000 metric tons in the
year 2005-06 with USA contributing around 88% of the world’s
total exports. Argentina, Australia, Nigeria, China and India are
the other important exporters of the cereal grain. The scenario of
the world imports are depicted in the form of a table below
showing the major sorghum importers of the world along with their
import figures
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History
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Sorghum, being a tropical crop, has its history
related to the hot and humid areas of the world.
The cereal grain is said to have originated
around the present day Ethiopia as a wild grass
as early as 8000 years ago. The place where the
crop was domesticated for the first time is
still a subject of controversy but it is
believed that sorghum spent the first 6000 years
of its existence in a phase of ignorance as at
that time no one knew about the long list of
uses it can offer. The cereal crop, once adopted
and cultivated, spread across the African
continent especially the regions of Egypt and
Sudan.
Sorghum marked its entry to
the Asian continent in the first millennium when
it was brought to India for the first time and
then it got popular among the other countries in
Asia as well. The weather conditions in the
continent suited well for the plantation and it
started to get cultivated here. Slave trade in
the newly discovered America helped sorghum to
get introduced into the new world and from here
on it got distributed in the rest of the world.
At that time, it was regarded as the food of
poor and the slaves were fed on sorghum. With
time and increasing popularity, a number of new
varieties of the grain were found and many uses
were also invented.
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| Cultivation
pattern
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Sorghum is a strictly tropical crop that can get
hampered even with a slight hint of cold in the
weather. The grain thrives on hot and humid
weather to survive and is one of the most
tolerant crops in context of drought as well as
flood. Sorghum is type of plant one can hardly
see without seeds, even if there is drought
proving to be deadly for all other grain crops.
Also, it can handle and grow on a wide range of
soil types starting from fertile to less
nutrient soils but an effective output largely
depends on soil moisture, resistance and
porosity. The wide, complex and a fibrous root
network of the plant and the fact it competes
with most of the weeds help the plant to stand
severe drought conditions. The time of
plantation of the crop is of utmost importance
as an early plantation of the sorghum seed
results in a good yield and also a strong, weed
less crop. It grows up to a reduced height of 2
to 4 feet, earlier it being 5 to 7 feet,
genetically reduced due to harvesting problems.
Like other cereal crops,
sorghum is also a very good nitrogen fixing
plant that rejuvenates the nutrient content in
the soil and thus can also be planted as a
secondary crop in crop rotation. Birds,
earthworms, aphids and larvae pose a major
threat of damage to the crop and several
chemicals and pesticides are used to counter
them. The plant needs duration of 90 to 120 days
for its growing phase and then is usually
harvested with combines. After harvesting of the
crops and extraction of the grains, they are
dried in the sun or by other methods before they
are consumed. In India, sorghum is cultivated as
both rabi and khariff crops, khariff being the
dominator among the two.
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| Sorghum
producing countries |
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Sorghum is produced mainly for feeding purposes. Due
to a very similar nutritional value and growth pattern
as of maize, it also serves as a substitute to it. The
world production of this cereal grain in 2005-06 was
58.9 million metric tons, the production being stable
over a long period of time. The list showing the major
global producers of sorghum with their production
figures relating to the year 2005-06 is given below
The top spot in the list is
bagged by the United States though Nigeria is too
close to its production figure and is giving a tough
competition for the first place. The world acreage of
area pertaining to sorghum production sums up to
around 440000 square kilometers.
Production of
sorghum in India
India has ever been among the
major producers of sorghum in the world. The country
has been able to maintain its position among the top
three producers of the crop. As already mentioned,
sorghum is produced both as a summer and a winter crop
i.e khariff and rabi crops in the country. Indian
production hovers around an average of 9 million
metric tons but since last few years a slow downfall
in the production as well as in the area covered for
sorghum production has been observed. The 2005-06
Indian sorghum production figures were 8 million
metric tons. Area wise, India accounts for around 20%
of the world total area used for the crop production.
The major states in the country where this cereal
grain is produced are
-
Maharashtra
- Karnataka
- Gujarat
- Madhya
Pradesh
- Andhra
Pradesh
- Rajasthan
- Uttar
Pradesh
Maharashtra produces the maximum sorghum in India,
production being supported by the districts Solapur,
Pune, Bijapur, Nanded, Akola and Maboobnagar.
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| Indian
sorghum or jowar market
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Sorghum is popularly known as "Jowar" in
India. The crop in the country stands at the third
place in context of importance after wheat and rice.
The grain had been used for consumption of both humans
and livestock and also different genes of the plant
serve many other important uses. The crop was
introduced in India in the first millennium and since
then it has been actively cultivated in the
subcontinent. The production of sorghum in India
reaches up to 9 million metric tons mark each year but
last few years have shown a marginal but gradual
decline in the production and productivity of the
crop. The area under cultivation of the crop too has
had a steep decline in the last 15 years i.e. 50% and
25% in the khariff and rabi season respectively.
India also maintains a place in the top ten
consumers of sorghum in the world with a 2005-06
consumption figure of 7.7 million metric tons. Indian
demand for the grain is on an increase due to the
combined increase in the demand of various sectors
using sorghum. The rural per capita annual consumption
has reduced a bit as compared to the 1961 figure, but
still this decline cannot hide sorghum’s national
importance. India is capable of satisfying the
domestic consumption demand and hence it emerges out
to be a net exporter of the crop exporting the balance
stocks. In 2005-06, the country made exports of 25000
metric tons of jowar and stood at the 6th position
among the world’s major exporters of the world. The
exports are expected to rise in the coming time.
Market Influencing Factors
- Change
in taste and preferences
- Farming
system changes
- Payment
of labor involved in the production of sorghum
- Alternative
cropping strategies depending upon the factors
like irrigation etc.
- Demand from fodder industries in the country
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| Major
trading centers of sorghum or jowar |
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In India, sorghum or jowar is being traded at the
following primary markets
-
Akkalkot (Mahrashtra)
- Mohol
(Mahrashtra)
- Barsi
(Mahrashtra)
- Pandharpur
(Mahrashtra)
- Kurduwadi
(Mahrashtra)
- Mumbai
(Mahrashtra)
- Kolhapur
(Mahrashtra)
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