From the time immemorial, ‘Haats’ in our hinterland have played a role of a facilitator for socio-economic intercourse. Barter- exchanging goods and commodities against set of other commodities or services have been the modus operandi over the past centuries, now it subsumes infinite economic and monetary exchange. Besides, agri- products, FMCGs are the real flavours of these desi markets.
1. From the time immemorial, ‘Haats’ in our hinterland
have played a role of a facilitator for socio-economic
intercourse. Barter- exchanging goods and commodities
against set of other commodities or services have been
the modus operandi over the past centuries, now it
subsumes infinite economic and monetary exchange.
Besides, agri- products, FMCGs are the real flavours of
these desi markets.
2. DO YOU KNOW ?
Rural Haats are the nerve centre for the rural marketing system in India. It’s
a readymade distribution system which caters the need of the rural
population of India. These Haats are generally organized on weekly basis
and play an important role in the economy of India.
Some Benefits of Haat :-
Serves as rural marketing hub.
Point of sales and re-distribution.
Major focus on FMCG products and brand.
Conducted every week mostly by panchayats and private party.
Acts as a nodal centre for the entire region
3. The size of the Haat depends on the size of the population it caters. A
large Haat caters nearly 57 villages with the footfall around 12,000,
whereas a small Haat caters to around 21 villages with an average
footfall of 5,600 on the Haat day. There are 43000 Haats in India which
are held on a regular basis.
Some Facts:
Haats caters to the population from 5000 to 10000+.
Number of stalls ranges from 300-600 depending on the size of the
Haat.
98% of the visitors are regular visitors to the Haat.
75% visit any particular Haat every week.
3/4th of visitors come to buy specific product from Haat despite similar
products are available in their villages.
Haats sell almost all kind of products ranging from agricultural products
to daily use FMCG products.
4. • Also serves as an important selling point for farm
equipment's, agri-inputs and output.
• Sales of the FMCG products in Haats have been
growing and the customers now prefer to buy certain
products like soap, shampoo, detergents, tea, groceries
etc. especially from these Haats.
• The average spending of a buyer is around Rs.40 on the
FMCG products.
The overall dynamics of a Rural Haat can be looked from
three perspectives:
• Haat as Rural Marketing Hubs.
• Haats as a point of sales and Re-distribution.
• Haats as a point of communication.
5. Urban Rural – Selling of products by Urban marketers
to Rural populace
6. • Rural Urban – Rural producers selling to semi-
urban and urban economy.
8. Panchayats
Municipalities
Private parties (generally owners of haat land
area)
Fee charged from the sellers:
Every seller has to pay a fixed amount of trade
in Haat. The fee ranges from Rs.24 to Rs.6-7
per stall which varies from state to state. This
fee is used for the development of the haats .
9. Haats are generally organized in the places which
are well connected and acts as a nodal centre of
the region. The main idea is to cater to a large
populace.
Some of the major locations for haats are:
•Market place
•Bus stop
•Temples
10. The haats are generally organized on a specific
day of week or twice a week. It also depends on
the day of the adjacent haat of that area.
•The haats are also differentiated on the basis of
the timings.
•Morning Haats: 6 A.M to 1 P.M
•Afternoon Haats : 2 P.M to 6 P.M
11. In most of the states Rabi/winter and
kharif/summer are the peak seasons for Haat
sales. The reason is that by this time the crop is
harvested which increases the purchasing power
of the villagers.
Rainy season is considered as a weak period for
Haats, the reason is that in this season farmers
like to invest money in the purchase of agricultural
inputs and also the haats lack the basic
infrastructure facilities like sheds during rain.
12. The haats are generally spread over 5-6 acres of
land and located as an average distance of 24 km
to the nearest big town. These haats normally
caters to 21 -57 villages depending on the
populace and size of haats. The number of
footfalls goes to 5600 to 12,000 in a day.
13. On the Haat day it is observed that the large number of sellers from the
nearby location comes to sell because there is large congregation of
buyers as a single point of sales. The main reasons for the higher
turnout of the buyers are:
•Higher sale possibility.
•No shop in village.
•Cash sales.
•Low investment.
•One can purchase as well as sell the goods.
•Thus it is now the accepted fact that the Haats provide a ready
platform for everyone who is playing in the rural areas.
