Cotton crop delayed, releasing pawned gold tough for farmers

Nagpur: It’s Dhanteras and cash registers are ringing, say jewellers. Shops in the city are bustling with customers, but it’s a different scene in the hinterland. Gold buying on the occasion has remained far fetched for many farmers these days. Now, it may also be difficult for a number of them to release their pawned gold during festive time this year.
Farmers pawn their gold during monsoon and get it released during Diwali till December. Delayed cotton harvest, rain losses and low rates for soyabean this year have disturbed the calculation, say traders.
Rajesh Thakker of Dipti Jewellers, a wholesale firm in Akola, explains the cycle. “Farmers start with pawning the gold before monsoon to raise money for sowing. After the harvest, the gold is released. However, even if the general buying for Dhanteras has been bullish, farmers coming to get their gold release are conspicuous by their absence,” he said.
Dr Sukesh Zanwar of Buldhana Urban Society, dubbed to be the biggest cooperative lending against gold in the region, said this year the number of persons turning up to release the gold by Diwali is less. “The final trend can be only determined after ten days or so,” he said.
Vijay Nischal, a farmer from Yavatmal, said the money received through soyabean sale is used for day to day expenses and farmers depend on the cotton crop. “Though the releasing of gold happens by December, the delayed cotton crop may disrupt the cycle,” he said.
According to Sudhir Kothari, a director of agriculture produce marketing committee (APMC) at Hinganghat, cotton arrivals are not expected till November 10 in the area. This means there is no surplus cash in hands of farmers. Market sources says this year prices of both soyabean and cotton may remain moderate.
“Leave aside getting releasing the ornaments pawned earlier, pledging of gold has continued even during the festive season as rains led to crop losses,” said Sanjeev Daga, a jeweller from Achalpur in Amravati district.
Closer to city, Pawan Rokde, who heads the Hingna MIDC Sarafa Association, said the number of farmers turning up for buying gold was down this year. At Deoli, jeweller Girish Rathi had the same experience.

On Sunday, gold was priced at Rs51m200 a tola (per 10 grams) in Nagpur after a jump of around Rs800 a day before Dhanteras which began on Saturday. This year the festival fell on both Saturday and Sunday.
However, it’s the costly dollar and 5% duty which is making the yellow metal dearer. Former director of Gems and Jewellery Council Nitin Khandelwal said, if purely intrinsic value of gold is considered, the rates are at Rs43,000 a tola. “In 2021, it was at over Rs48,000,” he said.
Gold is pegged against the dollar. Internationally, the rates are at a low of $1,650 an ounce as against a peak of over $2,000. However the costlier dollar makes it dearer in India.