A Study of the Price Differences Between the Lean Season and the Arrival Season of a Commodity my assignment essay help Java homework help

The price data for these commodities vary in accordance with the crop calendar, and this projects aims at analyzing the price data according to the lean and arrival season in the crop calendar of the crops considered. The project aims to show that the difference in the prices between the lean and the arrival season has decreased in order to enunciate the benefits of the futures trading to the farmers. The study also aims at understanding the relationship between the difference in the price data and the total availability of the crops.

The study attempts at understanding the relationship between the crop seasonality and the price seasonality of the crops considered. It also aims at studying the anomalies, if any, that exists in the price data after the analysis and offers to provide an explanation for the above mentioned anomalies. The path adopted for this project can be divided into three phases: 1. Data Collection 2. Data Analysis 3. Observations and Conclusions In the first phase, a list of agricultural commodities was chosen and the price data for these commodities for a test period of the last eight years, i. . 2004-2012 was collected. The data showcasing the import, export, production, and opening stock of the commodities was also collected in order to ascertain the total availability of the commodity. After collecting the above mentioned data, the seasonal index of the commodities for each month was found out using the 13 month moving average method. After finding the seasonal index, the price with the seasonal index was compared with the price without the seasonal index. The daily difference between the lean season and the arrival season was found out from the price data of the crops.

This difference was compared with the total availability of the crop for the particular year After the analyses of the data collected, the observations are noted and an explanation is given for any of the anomalies observed. 5 Chapter 1: Introduction The rationale behind choosing this project is to primarily study the impact of futures trading on the prices of the commodities. In the past few years the futures trading has come in for a lot of criticism from many quarters who have blamed it for the woes of the economy with reference to the impact it has had on raising the inflation of the agricultural commodities.

This project through the analysis of the price data of agricultural commodities aims to show the positive impact that the futures trading has had on the crops chosen and in turn on the farmers who cultivate the crops. The agriculture commodities whose price data is made use of in this project are as follows: ? Barley ? Maize ? Castor Seed ? Guar Seed ? Mustard Seed ? Turmeric ? Pepper ? Jeera ? Sugar ? Soy Bean Let us have a brief look at the commodities chosen BARLEY Barley is an annual cereal crop consumed as a major food and feed.

Basically a grass crop, it belongs to the family of Poaceae, and is considered to be the fourth most-important crop in the world after wheat, maize and rice. This crop has been commercially grown for 10,000 years now. The crop originated in the Middle East and in the lands of modern-day Ethiopia. As a wild grass it was used as feed for animals during early periods, but with the progress of civilization it was domesticated. The European rulers introduced this crop to the new world in the 16th and 17th century. Currently, it is used as food, feed and for the preparation of alcoholic beverages.

Barley is planted as a winter or summer crop in different countries. In the colder regions, barley is planted in April or May as a summer crop; in the warmer regions, barley is planted between mid6 September to November. In India, it is mostly cultivated as a Rabi crop. Sowing normally takes place between October and December. Harvesting starts from end-March until mid-April in the northern states, whereas in the central and southern states, harvesting takes place from February to May. The market arrivals start from March onwards. In India, the crop duration of barley is 120-150 days.

MAIZE Maize is one of the most important cereals of the world and provides more human food than any other cereal. Maize is of American origin having been domesticated about 7000 years ago. Maize provides nutrients for humans and animals and serves as a basic raw material for the production of starch, oil and protein, alcoholic beverages, food sweeteners and, more recently, fuel. Maize is high yielding, easy to process, readily digested, and costs less than other cereals. It is also a versatile crop, allowing it to grow across a range of agro ecological zones.

Every part of the maize plant has economic value: the grain, leaves, stalk, tassel, and cob can all be used to produce a large variety of food and nonfood products. India is the fifth largest producer of maize in the world contributing 3% of the global production. In India, maize is grown in all the seasons i. e. , kharif, Rabi and summer. Of these three seasons, nearly 90% of the production is from kharif season, 7-8% during Rabi season and remaining 1-2% during summer season. Since the maize is rain dependent, it is mainly grown during kharif season. CASTOR SEED Castor plant (Ricinus communis) is grown in arid and semi-arid regions.

It is cultivated in 30 different countries on commercial scale, of which India, China, Brazil, Russia, Thailand, Ethiopia and Philippines are major castor seed growing countries which accounts about 88% of the world’s production. In India it is a kharif crop, sowing in July-August and arrivals from December onwards till March. Gujarat is the chief producing state, having a share of 86% of domestic production, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Bag packed of castor seed contains 75kg by weight. Castor is a non-edible oilseed crop; basically a cash crop, with average 46% oil recovery.

Castor oil (extracted from castor seed) and its derivatives have vast and varied applications in the manufacturing of soaps, lubricants, hydraulic and brake fluids, paints, dyes, coatings, inks, cold resistant plastics, waxes and polishes, nylon, pharmaceuticals and perfumes. Castor oil is the largest vegetable oil exported out of India. India is the biggest exporter of castor oil holding about 70% share of the international trade in this commodity followed by China & Brazil. GUAR SEED Guar or cluster bean is believed to have originated in Africa but is been grown throughout southern Asia since ancient times as a vegetable and fodder crop.

Guar has been cultivated in India and Pakistan for ages for use of its tender pods as fresh vegetables and other parts of the plants to be used as cattle feed. The plant is extremely drought? resistant, being able to absorb efficiently all ground water. It grows therefore easily in those semi? arid regions where less hardy crops perish. The major world supplier of guar seed are India, Pakistan and United States. 7 Guar is a crop of semi arid–sub tropical areas spread over the North and North West of India and East and South East of Pakistan. Guar is grown in arid zones of Rajasthan, some parts of Gujarat, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh.

Jodhpur City in the North Western state of Rajasthan in India is the most important processing centre of Guar Gum and contributes approximately 40% of the world’s Guar Gum supply. This crop is a drought-tolerant, warm-weather, deep-rooted summer-growing annual legume. It grows well in soils of low fertility in the arid and semi-arid areas of the tropics and subtropics where the rainfall is summer-dominant. In India, the sowing season for guar seed is end of July and it is harvested during November. It is usually 90 days crop. Guar is a rain fed monsoon crop, which requires 8-15 inch of rain in 3-4 spell. For effective guar ultivation, the crop needs two rainfalls before sowing, one rainfall when the crop buds out and another 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. Mustard Seed Mustard Seed (Brassica Sp. )/ Rapeseed is the third leading source of vegetable oil in the world after soybean and oil palm, and also the world’s second leading source of protein meal, although only one fifth of the production of the leading soybean meal. Brassica juncea L. rai) was originally introduced from China into north-eastern India, from where it has extended into Afghanistan via Punjab. Eastern Afghanistan, together with the adjoining north-western India is one of the independent centres of origin of brown sarson (Brassica campestris var. brown sarson). The primary use of mustard seed is for extracting oil while the seeds are also used as condiment in pickles, meat and salad dressings. Mustard seed can also be milled into mustard flour and used as an ingredient in processed foods, such as salad dressings and soups. The seeds when crushed yield around 27-33% of oil.

Rapeseed oil has been used for centuries as a crop for a variety of uses. It was initially burned as oil in lamps by our ancestors in Asia and Europe, and later was discovered as cooking oil which people used to cook a number of items. The oilcake is mostly used as cattle feed. The mustard crop grows well in areas having 25 to 40 cm of rainfall. Sarson and toria are preferred in low-rainfall areas, whereas raya and toria are grown in medium and high-rainfall areas, respectively. The mustard thrives best in light to heavy loams. In India, mustard seed is basically a Rabi crop.

It’s sowing start in the month of October and continues till end of December. Mustard seed is mainly grown in North West parts of India. Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are the major Mustard Seed producing States in the country. The production from Rajasthan is highly monsoon dependent. The other significant producers are Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, West Bengal and Assam. 8 TURMERIC Turmeric (Curcuma longa) belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. The commercial part of the plant is its rhizome. It grows in light black, black clayey loams and red soils in irrigated and rain fed conditions with temperature ranging between 20 to 30 degrees.

The crop cannot stand water logging or alkalinity. Turmeric is used to flavour and to colour foodstuffs. It is used in cosmetics and in medicines. Turmeric is ready for harvesting in 7-9 months. Sowings start from may end and extend till august whereas arrivals start from December and extend up to March. , arrivals start from February and extend up to May. Turmeric is a seasonal and annual kharif crop. In major producing states of India India has the lion share in production, consumption and export of turmeric in the world. It accounts for 78 per cent of the world output and 60 per cent of world exports.

Indian turmeric is considered the best in the world market because of its high curcumin content. In India, it is cultivated in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka and Kerala. Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae. Hot and pungent black pepper is one of the most popular spices in the world. The fruit, when dried, is approximately 5 mm in diameter. Black pepper is used for both its flavour and medicinal properties. In India harvesting starts from December and extends till March whereas the arrivals in the physical markets start from February.