In Rajasthan, Guar Farmers Wait for a Return to Boom Times

Kuni Takahashi for The New York TimesA worker showing dehusked guar beans at a factory in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, in this July 3, 2012 file photo.

NEW DELHI â€" A year ago, farmers of the modest guar bean in Rajasthan were enjoying boom times, but this year they're still waiting for a windfall.

Sanjay Pareek, vice president of Vikas WSP, one of the world's largest guar processing companies, said in an interview that this year's crop was not as large as many had hoped because of the late arrival of m onsoon rains. And prices slumped earlier this year after a concerted effort by Mr. Pareek's company to increase production. Prices have since risen modestly, and farmers have earned adequate profits, he said.

Still, many farmers have yet to sell their crops because they still hope that the kind of boom that enriched so many last year will recur. “They are releasing it slowly according to their need for money,” Mr. Pareek said.

Mr. Pareek said he expected a sharp spike in guar prices early next year as a slew of new natural gas wells in the United States come on line and demand for the bean soars. Some companies also stockpiled guar supplies, and those supplies are only gradually being depleted.

Guar has been grown for generations in the deserts of Rajasthan as cattle feed, because it is hardy enough to thrive in poor soil and limited rainfall. Broader commercial interest in guar first developed when food companies found tha t it absorbs water like a souped-up cornstarch, and a powdered form of the bean is now widely used to thicken ice cream and keep pastries crisp. But much more important to farmers here was the recent discovery that guar could stiffen water so much that a mixture is able to carry sand sideways into wells drilled by horizontal fracturing, also known as fracking.

Vikram Singh Gahlot, the manager of a Mahindra tractor showroom, said in an interview that his sales have been robust this season in part because guar prices have remained passable, providing farmers with adequate incomes.

Guar now provides farmers with far better profits than other crops like wheat and rapeseed, he said.

Sruthi Gottipati contributed reporting from New Delhi.