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Horticulture Just sharing a personal experience

Horticulture - Just sharing a personal experience

Yesterday I was buying fruits. From my favourite vendor. I saw pears there which I knew from their shape size and skin colour to be sourced from the lower hills of HP and nearby districts in Punjab. These are not the Premium variety but taste quite nice. The cost - plus Rs 110/- a Kg. We discussed. The farmers were getting Rs 20/- to Rs 23/- per kg. Maximum. As per the vendor. Now in 70 kms to 80 kms the price went up a little over four times. He stated 28 % to 30 % was the margin of the Commission Agent / Arhtiya. He stated his margin was 10 % to 15%. Then add mandi fees, wastage / transportation and storage costs had to be factored in but I know for sure the storage is limited as it’s distributed immediately. The vendor stated the maximum margins were of the commission agents and they lived with this reality.
Twenty odd years ago I was posted in the Districts. That time Pears were retailed under a tree at Balachaur - 60 or so kms away- for Rs 8 to Rs 12 a Kg and sold at corporate owned stores at Rs 40/- a kg minimum. I checked this repeatedly personally but the wholesaler was reluctant to share the price paid out and channel charges.
Similarly An In-depth study of Saffron and Apple in Kashmir around 2015 when I was posted there revealed similar trends.
Farmers have to learn the nuances of business and move into grading, packing, transportation and selling. Even as informal groups. This will put pressure on the channels to negotiate better terms with them too.
Shiv Pratap, Lalit Sharma and 15 others
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