Marketing Efficiency of Green Peas under Different Supply Chains in Punjab

During the year 2007-08, the area under green peas in Punjab was 18.45 thousand hectares with a production of 1.11 lakh tonnes. The total consumption at the farm level being just 2.54 per cent, the marketed surplus was 97.46 per cent. The maximum quantity of green peas was sold by the growers in the wholesale market (about 89%) and the rest was sold at the farm, in the village and in Apni Mandi. The marketing of green peas has been studied by three supply chains, viz. I: Producer → wholesaler (through commission agent) → retailer → consumer; II: Producer → retailer (through commission agent) → consumer; III: Producer → consumer. The net price received by the producer was 67 per cent, 69 per cent and 94 per cent in supply chains I, II and III respectively in the Hoshiarpur market in January, 2009. The producer’s share in supply chain III was the maximum because of direct sale by the producer to the consumer. The supply chain III has been found most efficient because its marketing efficiency was 14.83 as compared to 2.70 in supply chain II and 2.38 in supply chain I. The low marketing efficiency in supply chain I was on account of a higher number of market intermediaries in this chain. The functional analysis of the factors affecting the marketing efficiency has revealed that with one per cent increase in marketing margins and costs, the marketing efficiency declined by 0.45 per cent and 0.44 per cent, respectively. The modern market infrastructure may be built up with the public-private partnership to bring efficiency in the marketing of green peas.