The story
Guar grows well in western Rajasthan's dry, sandy soil with little water. Phalodi's mills split the guar seed and grind it into gum powder, used in food, textiles and especially oil and gas drilling. Exports rise and fall sharply with global drilling demand.
In numbers
The guar gum cluster at Phalodi had 60 units, about Rs 1,000 crore turnover a year, 1,050 workers and Rs 950 crore exports a year (Jodhpur district profile 2015-16).
Brief Industrial Profile of Jodhpur District 2015-16 (MSME-DI Jaipur, Ministry of MSME) · 2016
Ways in for a newcomer
- Contract farming and seed supply for guar
- Guar meal for cattle feed
- Testing and export documentation
Problems the cluster faces
- Poor seed quality and low yields
- Sharp swings in raw material and product prices
- Currency movements
Businesses to start here
Masala / Spice Grinding Unit →Cold Storage (Potato, 2000 MT) →