An Economic Analysis of Cabbage Marketing in North Gujarat

The present study analyzes marketing cost, margin, and price spread of cabbage crop in North Gujarat using a multistage random sampling design. The study covered 120 cabbage cultivators from 4 talukas and 12 Banaskantha and Sabarkantha districts. For marketing aspects, five functionaries from each category of cabbage marketing were randomly selected from Palanpur and Ahmedabad markets. The total marketed surplus of cabbage was observed to be 1210.56 quintals, and the significant share of 50.53 percent was sold through wholesalers-cum-commission agents, followed by wholesalers (29.01%), retailers (19.17%), and village merchants (1.37%) by cabbage growers. Among the different marketing costs borne by the grower, transportation cost ranked first, and for the wholesaler-cum-commission agent, commission charge was the highest. Among the various expenses of retailers, the maximum share was observed for spoilage. The total margin was higher at a retailers’ level than a wholesaler, constituting 11.55 percent and 2.77 percent of consumers’ prices, respectively. The marketing cost incurred by different functionaries was 210.18 per quintal of cabbage, accounting for 25.80 percent of the consumers’ price. The producer’s share was 59.87 percent of the price paid by cabbage consumers. It was suggested to sell cabbage to the direct consumers, malls, catering, etc., to have a higher share in consumer rupee.