page_title: Bharuch
section_title: Economy, commerce and industry
hierarchical_section_title: Bharuch / Economy, commerce and industry
context_page_description: Bharuch, formerly known as Broach, is a city at the mouth of the river Narmada in Gujarat in western India. Bharuch is the administrative headquarters of Bharuch District.
  The city of Bharuch and its surroundings have been settled since times of antiquity. It was a ship building centre and sea port in the pre-compass coastal trading routes to points West, perhaps as far back as the days of the pharaohs. The route made use of the regular and predictable monsoon winds or galleys. Many goods from the Far East were shipped there during the annual monsoon winds, making it a terminus for several key land-sea trade routes. Bharuch was known to the Greeks, the various Persian Empires, in the Roman Republic and Empire, and in other Western centres of civilisation through the end of the European Middle Ages.
  In the 3rd century, Bharuch port was mentioned as Barugaza. Arab traders entered Gujarat via Bharuch to do business. The British and the Dutch noted Bharuch's importance and established their business centres here.
  During the eight century, the town of bharuch was ruled by King Mayur giving rise to the Chaudhary Dynasty.
context_section_description: Bharuch has always been prosperous because of its location on the Narmada River. Although water tends to be scarce in Gujarat, one never finds difficulty in getting water in Bharuch. As a result of this, agriculture and other linked commercial activities have flourished in Bharuch. Bharuch is also a central stopping point for many villages spread around its boundaries. People from these small villages come to Bharuch when they want to shop for new clothes, or make a major purchase. Lately a lot of retiring expatriates have been returning to Bharuch and building new houses giving the economy a boost.
  Traditionally, Bharuch has been the centre of the peanut processing and marketing industry with a well established brand name around the country. Almost none of the peanuts are grown in Bharuch itself but the best of the crops from neighbouring regions are brought here for processing. Bharuch is also the home of the Bandhni method of clothing design and is well known for this traditional art form.
  At present, this heavily industrialised Village is renowned for its textile mills, chemical plants, long staple cotton, dairy products and much more. Gujarat's biggest liquid cargo terminal is situated here. It also houses many reputed multinational companies like Videocon, BASF, Reliance, Welspun Stahl etc. Bharuch is a shopping centre well known for its salty peanuts. Because of the distinctive colour of the soil here that is ideal for cotton cultivation, Bharuch is sometimes referred to as 'Kanam Pradesh' (black soil land).
  In the past 10 years or so, a major part of population has moved to countries like United Kingdom, United States of America, The African continent, and other parts of Europe. This brings some economical boost to the local businesses as people come back for vacations and spend their earnings here.
caption: Cotton
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