STRATEGIC REPORT ON GUAR SEED AND GUM

The purpose of this report is to provide an inside look and overview about the production, processing and consumption of Guar in various industries around the globe. 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. 

The guar bean is principally grown in India and Australia, with smaller crops in the US, China, and Africa. In India, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana are the main producing regions, and Jodhpur, Sri Ganga-Nagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan are the major Guar trading markets. 

India produces 1.2-1.5 million tons of guar annually, making it the largest producer with about 80% of world production. In Pakistan, Punjab is the main production area for guar beans. 

The world production for guar gum and its derivatives is about 0.7 million tons (700,000 tons). Industrial guar gum accounts for about 45% of the total demand. It is used as a controlling agent in oil wells to facilitate easy drilling and prevent fluid loss 

State wise production of guar in India:

State Production in Tons %

Rajasthan	7,50,000	70%
Haryana	2,00,000	16%
Gujarat	1,50,000	12%
Punjab and others	25,000	2%
Total	11,25,000	100%

                                                     

important reasons to have Guar Seed Futures:

Uncontrolled and Uncertain Supply  

There is no Government regulation and restrictions affecting the Guar production and supply. The
price discovery is left to market forces based on the rainfall and acreage pattern.
Fluctuation and Uncertain Demand 

Demand from Domestic and International market is uncertain. The later depending on the crop in
Pakistan and US.
Homogenous nature with well-defined grades

The commodity has well defined grades and specifications for reference of trading and also to
facilitate physical delivery in cased if required.
Long storing period 

The commodity is subjected to long storage requirement based on market prices and overseas
demand.

Value Chain

The flow of the value chain for Guar Seed is as follows:

                                                                Farmer
                                                                    !
                                                        Agent (Mandi)/Stockiest 
                                                                    ! ............ Brokers   
                                                        Split Processing Units
                                                                    ! ............Brokers 
                                                         Powder Processing Units
                                                                    !
                                                         Industrial Use (local/export) 
                                                                    !
                                                             Consumer 

Guar is a rain fed monsoon crop, which requires 8-15 inch of rain in 3-4 spells and is harvested in 
October - November. It is sown immediately after first showers say in July and harvested around 
November each year. The crop yield is directly related to the monsoon. It requires a relative long 
growing season of 20-25 weeks.

GUAR GUM CULTIVATION IN INDIA

India is native of guar or cluster bean where it is used as a vegetable. From hundreds of years Guar has been used as vegetable in India. It is also used as a cattle food, and as a green manure crop in agriculture. Guar gum comes from the endosperm of the seed of the legume plant Cyamopsis tetragonoloba; an annual plant, grown in dry regions of India as a food crop for animals. There are various grades of Guar gums pure or derivative. Guar gum is a white to creamy coloured, free flowing powder and free from extraneous matter. Its ability to suspend solids, bind water by hydrogen bonding, control the viscosity of aqueous solutions, form strong tough films have accounted for its rapid growth and use in various industries. For example guar gum is used in paper, textile, oil drilling, mining, explosives, ore flotation and other various industrial applications.
The growing season of guar is 14 -16 weeks and requires reasonably warm weather and moderate flashing rainfall with plenty of sunshine. Too much rain can cause the plant to become more 'leafy' resulting thereby reducing the number of pods or the number of seeds per pod which affects the size and yield of seeds. The . the total size of Guar crop varies from year to year. After harvesting, when the pods become dry through sunlight, they are beaten off and during this process, the seeds come out of the pods.