Fruits and vegetables being perishable in nature can not be stored for a long period and it is not possible to transport them to long distances. Hence there is large scale exploitation of buyers in these commodities. The present study has been conducted in district Patiala to know how Apni Mandi is playing a role in fruit and vegetable marketing. For this purpose two Apni Mandis located at Urban Estate phase II and Rajpura colony near bus stand were taken randomly and whole sale mandi of fruits and vegetable at Sanaur is also included in the sample. The relevant information was collected from 10 farmers each of Apni Mandi and local wholesale market and 10 retailers operating in Apni Mandi. Simple averages and percentages were used as statistical tools and tabular analysis was done to interpret the results. The study revealed that farmers can fetch higher prices for their produce in Apni Mandi as compared to local wholesale market. But the retailers operating in Apni Mandi are getting more profits. Thus Apni Mandi may prove boom to the farmers in terms of higher profits and high quality fresh produce at the door steps of the consumers.
Apni mandi, vegetables, prices, returns, wholesalers
