How Gujarat markets potato

Potato is one of the important cash crops grown by the farmers of Gujarat. The potato growers have to face lot of marketing problems like price instability, less producer’s share in consumer’s price, storage problems etc.

Therefore, to get clear picture of marketing of potato, a study on marketing of potato in middle Gujarat was carried out by the department of Agricultural Economics, B.A.C.A, Anand Agricultural University with the specific objectives viz; to study the pattern of disposal of potato, to examine the price behavior and period of disposal and to estimate the market cost, margin and price spread in marketing of potato.

The data were collected from 150 potato growers spread over ten villages of two talukas of middle Gujarat during 2001-02 to 2004-05.

Thus, the average result of four years was worked out. Per hectare average yield of potato was about 163.83q and the marketable surplus was 92.81 per cent of the total production on the sample as a whole. Generally, potato growers sell their produce at distant places in out of district when they get higher prices as compared to near market within district sale. It was found that, about 50 per cent produce was sold out of district.

A clear seasonality in prices was observed in potato marketing. Thus, prices of potato were low in immediate post harvest month and increased there after. Though potato growers know such type of seasonal price trend, 59 per cent of the produce was sold by potato growers without storing the produce in cold storage as they could not get pledge finance on their produce kept in the cold storage.

It was also found from the overall result of four years that keeping potato in cold storage and sale in different seasons was about 35 per cent more profitable. But only 41 per cent of total quantity was sold in off season after keeping in cold storage.

When the potato was sold without storage, the cost incurred by the potato growers was Rs.38/q and it was Rs.185.16/q when produce sold after storage. On an average, potato growers realized about 53 per cent share in consumer’s rupee. Out of 47 per cent price spread, 23 per cent shared by retailer, 2 per cent by wholesaler and 22 per cent by marketing cost. To increase the marketing efficiency, it is necessary to reduce the marketing cost.

From the study a very noteworthy result was found that spoilage cost (Rs. 33.43 per quintal/ 18 per cent of total marketing cost) was remarkably high when potato was kept in cold storage. Therefore, efforts should be made by cold storage owners to minimize the spoilage of potato; the produce kept in cold storage and the temperature and other parameters relating to cold storage need to be examined by the concerned scientists and cold storage owners.