Bumper crop expectaions to light up Dhanteras sales in Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh this year is expecting a bumper yeirld of crops, following this year's good monsoon. This has brought a boom in the Diwali business that started today with Dhanteras.

According to market experts, the five-day Diwali season is likely to transact business worth Rs 700 crore in the state. The traders are expecting a business of about Rs 200 crore on the Dhanteras day today.

"The business in this Diwali season is best among all the recent years as the state is expected to get a good agriculture yield following good monsoon", Chhattisgarh Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Sreechand Sunderani told Business Standard.

The crop reported this year had its positive influence in the Diwali business, he added.

According to Sunderani, the traders were expecting a growth of more than Rs 200 crore during the Diwali season as compared to last year's business. In all, the state is likely to record a business worth Rs 700 croreduring the festival of lights, Sunderani added.

The government officials admitted that the state was set to record a bumper paddy yield this year. "As against last year's 6 million tonnes of paddy production, the government is expecting a yield of about 9 million tonnes this year"; deputy director in the directorate of agriculture R K Chandravanshi said.

Chhattisgarh government had set a target to procure 5 million tonne paddy at Minimum Support Price (MSP) in the kharif marketing season 2010-11. Last year, about 4.4 million tonnes of paddy was procured in the state.

According to traders, the automobile and jewellery sectors recorded maximum business on Dhanteras. "In both the sectors alone, business worth Rs 60 crore each was expected by late today evening", they added.