A shirt in the Market Class 7 Worksheet Civics Chapter 8

Q.1. How are small farmers dependent on local traders?

The trader is a powerful man in the village and small farmers have to depend on him for loans not only for cultivation, but also to meet other exigencies such as illnesses, children’s school fees. Also, there are times in the year when there is no work and no income for the farmers, so borrowing money is the only means of survival.

Q.2. How do weaver’s cooperatives reduce the dependence of weavers on the cloth merchants?

In a cooperative, people with common interests come together and work for their mutual benefit. In a weaver’s cooperative, the weavers form a group and take up certain activities collectively. They procure yarn from the yarn dealer and distribute it among the weavers. The cooperative also does the marketing. So, the role of the merchant is reduced, and weavers get a fair price on the cloth.

Q.3. Did Swapna get a fair price on the cotton?

No, Swapna did not get a fair price on the cotton because local trader paid her low price.

Q.4. Why did Swapna borrow money from the local trader?

Swapna had borrowed money from the trader to buy seeds, fertilisers, pesticides for cultivation.

Q.5. On what condition did the trader agree to give loan to Swapna?

He agreed to give loan to Swapna on a condition that she would sell all her cotton to him.

Q.6. Why do you think more women are employed in the Impex garment factory?

Women are employed in the Impex garment factory because they agree to work even at the lowest possible wages.

Q.7. What are the reasons that the businessperson is able to make a huge profit in the market?

Business person do business strictly on their own terms. They demand the lowest prices from the supplier and sells at higher rate to high income group.

Q.8. Merchants hold lot of power! Explain?

The merchant distributes work among the weavers based on the orders he has received for cloth. The weavers get the yarn from the merchant and supply him the cloth. However, this dependence on the merchants both for raw materials and markets means that the merchants have a lot of power.

Q.9. Explain the following term: Ginning mill, Exporter and Profit.

• Ginning mill: A factory where seeds are removed from cotton bolls. The cotton is pressed into bales to be sent for spinning into thread.
• Exporter: A person who sells goods abroad.
• Profit: The amount that is left or gained from earnings after deducting all the costs. If the costs are more than the earnings, it would lead to a loss.

Q.10. How do exporters cut down the cost of manufacturing garments?

Faced with such pressures from the buyers, the garment exporting factories, in turn, try to cut costs. They get the maximum work out of the workers at the lowest possible wages. This way they can maximise their own profits and also supply the garments to foreign buyers at a cheap price.

Q.11. Where do you think large farmers would sell their cotton? How is their situation different from Swapna?

Large farmers would sell their cotton in the market. Their situation is different from Swapna. Unlike Swapna, they do not have to depend on traders for loans for raw materials and to meet other exigencies such as illnesses, children’s school fees etc. Thus they are free to sell their produce anywhere they wish.

Q.12. What made Swapna sell the cotton to the trader instead of selling at the Kurnool cotton market?

At the beginning of the cropping season, Swapna had borrowed Rs 2,500 from the trader at a very high interest rate to buy seeds, fertilisers, pesticides for cultivation. At that time, the local trader made Swapna agree to another condition. He made her promise to sell all her cotton to him. Thus Swapna had to sell the cotton to the trader instead of selling at the Kurnool cotton market.

Q.13. What are the demands foreign buyers make on the garment exporters? Why do the garment exporters agree to these demands?

They demand the lowest prices from the supplier. In addition, they set high standards for quality of production and timely delivery. Any defects or delay in delivery is dealt with strictly.
The garment exporters agree to these demands because they get the maximum work out of the workers at the lowest possible wages. This way they can maximise their own profits and also supply the garments to foreign buyers at a cheap price.

Q.14. Think of something common that we use. It could be sugar, tea, milk, pen, paper, pencil, etc. Discuss through what chain of markets this reaches you. Can you think of the people that help in the production or trade?

Chain of markets to produce Milk:
(i) Dairy cooperatives first purchase milk at different locations.
(ii) After that, milk is transported to the milk factories by the dairy cooperatives.
(iii) Milk is processed in the factories and is packed.
(iv) Packets are then given to the traders who transport them to cities where wholesaler purchase these.
(v) Retailers purchase from the wholesalers then sell these packets of milk to the consumers in the open market in booths.

Q.15. Establish relationship between the market and equality.

The foreign businessperson made huge profits in the market. Compared to this, the garment exporter made only moderate profits. On the other hand, the earnings of the workers at the garment export factory are barely enough to cover their day-to-day needs. Similarly, we saw the small cotton farmer and the weaver at Erode put in long hours of hard work. But they did not get a fair price in the market for what they produced. The merchants or traders are somewhere in between. Compared to the weavers, they have earned more but it is still much less than the exporter. Thus, not everyone gains equally in the market.