Marketing efficiency and problems of peach crop in Himachal Pradesh of northwestern Himalayan region

In the present study a sample of 60 farmers cultivating peach, five pre-harvest contractors, five forwarding agents, five wholesalers and five retailers were selected randomly. Results indicated that the majority of the producers sold their produce through pre-harvest contractors which deprived them from getting benefitted from actual market prices. Large price spread between producer’s price and consumer’s rupee for peach was frequently observed in markets. Producers received 52.71 per cent of the consumer’s price in the channel-C in which large quantity of produce was marketed. Among these costs packing material, Mandi tax and commission charges were the major items. The share of middlemen including retailers appeared to be reasonable. Highest efficiency was observed in channel-A (27.82) followed by channel-E (14.03), channel-B (1.57), channel-D (1.17) and channel-C (1.11). Though channel-A was found efficient yet the volume transacted was very less (4.52%). Problem of availability of buyers and harassment by middleman were found statistically significant. A considerable portion of the consumer’s rupee in these markets was consumed by intermediaries. This indicates inefficiencies and shortfalls in the marketing system. Thus for better disposal of peach produce, the producer-industry linkages need to be developed as the crop has potential for processing and preservation. Model of cooperative farming should be developed to ensure better marketing. Information on market potential, price and market intelligence is required to be collected through market survey so that proper marketing strategy could be formulated.