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Journalism of Courage
Dilapidated old buildings, damp and smelly dukaans, and sethias in crisp khadis. Welcome to Ganj Bazaar, Asia’s biggest spice market, at Unjha. Inside the marketplace, the winds of change are blowing. So you walk into plush, air-conditioned chambers where you can spot computers and the latest cellphones.
The sethias, who have always believed in traditional ways of doing business, have brought in management trainees, geeks and Exim graduates to change things around. And the youngsters have certainly brought in change in the market which trades in at least Rs 2 crore by the end of the day’s auctions.
The English-speaking graduates have introduced e-mail marketing, created websites and computerised accounting systems, and make presentations on laptops and deal directly with foreign clients. Some of them are hired by the firms while others are heirs to family businesses.
‘‘The youngsters are doing really well in exports,’’ says Rameshbhai Patel, an elderly trader. ‘‘Exports were earlier handled by agents in Mumbai who would deal with foreign firms. But these youngsters are turning the tables on them. They are English-speaking and know the right manners. They make presentations to clients abroad and have started dealing with them directly. Of course, they rely heavily on our experience to strike a good deal!’’ he says.
Patel has hired Minesh, an MCA graduate, who gave up an Aptech franchise in Vadodara for Unjha’s spice market. ‘‘I have established direct contact with our foreign buyers. We send quotations on e-mail, make presentations on the Net and keep them informed about the prices on a daily basis,’’ says Minesh.
The Ganj Bazaar has nearly 800 trading firms which deal in 27 commodities, mainly spices like jeera (cumin seeds), saunf (fennel seeds) and isabgol (psyllium). The market made a turnover of over Rs 900 crore in 2003. Ninety per cent of the transactions are done in cash and, as a rule, payments for stock purchase to farmers are made the same day. Spices are supplied to over 1,500 centres in India and abroad from Unjha. To handle the financial transactions, there are 17 banks in and around the market.
The switch to technical expertise has added to the profits. Patel’s firm began to reap the benefits within a year of bringing in Minesh. “There is also a website and profile of the firm and its owners,’’ says Minesh. On a foreign business tour these days, the ‘seth’ is usually accompanied by a hired hand or a son who would be carrying, besides samples, a laptop. And they are now travelling to as far as Sydney, South Korea, Turkey and the US to strike deals.
