RA 00048.pdf - OAR@ICRISAT

Table 5.
Average estimate of marketing margins (rupees per quintal) In three markets' for five selected
crops, 1975-76.
Crops
Item Sorghum Pearl millet Pigeonpea Chickpea Groundnut
Wholesale traders' level
Gross margins 14.83 13.23 17.59 17.71 11.36
(8.77) b (8.03) (6.87) (7.10) (3.72)
Net margins 7.85 6.47 6.76 6.96 6.09
(4.64) (3.93) (2.64) (2.79) (199)
Millers' level
Gross margins 2 2 5 6 20.43 40.82
(8.81) (8.19) (13.35)
Net margins 11.54 11.55 16.81
(4.51) (4.63) (5.50)
Retailers' level
Gross margins 7.08 6.18 12.27 10.92 23.50
(4.19) (3.75) (4.79) (4.38) (7.69)
Net margins (4.85) 3.95 7.67 6.61 10.52
(2.87) (2.40) (3.00) (2.65) (3.44)
Producers' net price 144.58 142.66 200.13 196.84 226.09
(85.49) c (86.63) c (78.16) c (78.92) c (73.97) c
Consumers' price 169.11 164.67 256.04 249.41 305.66
(100) (100) (100) (100) (100)
a. Warangal, Khammam, Tandur.
b. Figures in parentheses are percentages.
c. Producer's share in consumers' rupee.
Price Correlations in S o r g h u m M a r k e t s
The correlation of prices reported from different
markets provides a measure of pricing efficiency
of these markets. Price correlations vary between
pairs of markets in different regions. Table 6
shows the price correlation coefficients among
three Andhra Pradesh markets and 28 other
selected markets for different products. For sorghum,
the correlation coefficients are quite low in
comparison with other crops. This could be
explained partly with the high variability in the
quality of sorghum; average prices, as they are
being reported, do not generally refer to the
quality of the product. In addition, however,
sorghum markets cannot be expected to be highly
integrated (as compared with pulses) because of
the fact that sorghum trade generally involves
much shorter distances than does the trade of
pulses (Fig. 2).
Prices Over Space and Time
Price Index of Sorghum
Over the Last 15 Years
Sorghum prices have kept in line with the prices
for other cereals over the last 15 years, but from
1970 onwards they have increased at a faster rate
than wheat and all cereals (Fig. 3). One reason for
this recent price rise could be the decline in per
capita net availability of coarse cereals, particularly
from 1970 onwards. In comparison, the per capita
net availability of wheat increased over time,
while availability of total cereals remained more or
less constant. According to Bapna (1976) "... the
aggregate coarse cereal price increased at the
rate of 10.5% per annum between 1951 and
1974, while that of wheat and rice increased by
8.4% per annum. The price of coarse cereals
during recent years has reached and even surpassed
the levels of wheat and rice prices."
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