Marketing and Constraints Analysis of Pomegranate in Solapur District of Maharashtra

Increased production of agricultural commodities would be of no worth, if efficient marketing does not follow it. Marketing of agricultural products usually signifies their physical transfers as well as the commercial terms on which the transfers are made. The pomegranate produce in the study area was marketed through three different channels from producers to ultimate consumer's viz., Channel-I: Farmer-Pre-harvest contractor-Commission agent cum wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer, Channel-II: Farmer-Distant Market wholesaler-Retailer-Consumer and Channel-III: Farmer-Exporter. Channel-I was the most popular channel of marketing in the study area, since in this channel the net price received by the producer was higher than other channels. Also due to the presence of harvest contractor in channel-I, time and transportation cost of the producer were saved and moreover advance payment by the pre-harvest contractor before taking the delivery of the produce was also the reason for the popularity of Channel-I. Garrett ranking technique has been used to analyze the marketing problems faced by the pomegranate farmers. Majority of the farmers opined that they did not get remunerative price for the produce and are also cheated by the middlemen, higher transportation costs when fruits are sold outside the local area, high commission charges, lack of market information and low price paid to farmers.