JINGHAN - A PARTIAL SUBSTITUTE FOR JIGAT IN AGARBATHI MANUFACTURE

Agarbathi making is one of the oldest and prominent cottage industries providing employment to weaker sections of both urban and rural peopl e, especially women. Total production of agarbathi in the country duri ng 1992-93 in terms of value was about Rs. 150 crores. Exports of Agar bathi fetched Rs. 49.1 crores during 1994-95 of which 80% is from Sout hern region. Production and export performance of agarbathi industry d epends on availability of forest based raw materials viz., bamboo, cha rcoal, 'jigat', sandalwood, Halmaddi etc. Indiscriminate collection is leading to overexploitation and shortage of raw materials particularl y, 'Jigat' - the basic binding material which is the bark of slow grow ing evergreen tree Machilus marrantha. Amongst the various plant mater ials screened, Lannea coromandelica syn. Odina wodier (Moyna or Jingha n) gum in combination with 'Jigat' in 1:1 ratio was found to be a good partial substitute and agarbathis rolled using this mixture costs 20 per cent less than those rolled with pure 'jigat'.