1. Espacios de comunicación
1.2. Tipologías de espacios de comunicación
1.2.3. En función del tipo de comunicación
On an average 30-40 MT of tomatoes are bought daily by the local processors for making tomato powder and tomato puree. Processors generally buy either the smallest size of tomato, which is not used for table purposes or the over ripe tomatoes, which cannot be sent to distant markets. Average purchase price for the processor is about Rs. 1-2 per kg of tomato.
6.1.2 Price build up along the value chain of Tomato
Value chain of 1 kg of tomato indicating the various activities and cost build-up at every step has been mapped, and is shown in the diagram. Some of the assumptions of the price build up are:
• The most commonly observed trade channel has been selected for the price build up of tomato i.e. Farmer-Commission agent-Trader-Wholesaler-Retailer.
• The cost of cultivation does not include cost of bamboo sticks, wires, cost of crates etc. • The cost of retailing, which includes the cost of shop, wages, rent etc, has not been
considered.
• Wastages along the chain have been calculated for each level and the cumulative wastage has been taken into account.
Farmers incur a cost of Rs 2.4 in cultivating 1 kg of tomato. The produce is harvested and graded on farm and transported to APMC market by the farmer. He incurs a cost of Rs 0.4 in bringing the produce from farm to APMC market. Besides this, farmer also pays Rs 0.3 to the commission agent for facilitating trade. The price realized by the farmer at APMC market is Rs 4/kg and his net margin is Rs 0.9/kg. After buying tomatoes from the farmer, trader does further grading and packaging based on demand of buyer/destination market. The total expense incurred by the trader is around Rs 1/kg and his mark up is around Rs 0.8-1/kg. Traders send the produces to wholesalers, who are based at consumption markets and mainly do the distribution of produces to the retailers in a particular city, town or village. The cumulative wastage observed in case of tomato is around 20%. Analysis of wastage at every level is shown below:
The price build up can be summarized, as below:
Particulars Farmer Trader Wholesaler
Cost of cultivation/ Purchase price (Rs/Kg) 2.4 4 5.8
Cost of marketing, transport, wastage (Rs/Kg) 0.7 1 1
Selling price(Rs/Kg) 4 5.8 8.8
Price spread 0.9 0.8 2
Some of the salient features of the price build up are mentioned below: Farm Level Primary Market / Trader Destination Market / Wholesaler Retailer 4‐5% 2‐3% 3‐4% 5‐10% Farm Level 4‐5% Over ripening due to delayed harvesting and pest attack Improper grading by the farmer, losses during
transportation
Losses during transportation
Losses due to delayed sale / unsold produce Rs 5.8 (Trader’s Price) Rs 8.8 (Wholesaler’s Price) Rs 15.5 Wholesaler’s expenses Wholesaler’s margin Rs 4 Rs 0.8 Rs 1 Farmgate price Trader’s expense Rs 1.0 Rs 2.0 Trader’s margin Rs 4.8 Retailer’s margin Consumer price Rs 2.0 Cumulative Wastage
• There are 3-4 intermediaries between the farmer and consumer. The intermediaries are trader, commission agent, wholesaler, semi-wholesaler and/or retailer. Trader, wholesaler and retailer do
business/sales on mark up basis. • The price realized by the farmer is
around 1/4th of the price paid by the consumer. However, the farmer’s margin is only 6 paisa of a consumer rupee.
• Though retailer’s share of a
consumer rupee is 31 paisa, 50% of the wastage along the chain is accounted for, at this stage because of multiple handling and quality loss in the previous stages.
• The wholesaler’s margin is 13 paisa of a consumer rupee. However, in certain cases, it is redistributed between the wholesaler and semi-wholesaler.
6.2 I
NFRASTRUCTUREA
SSESSMENT6.2.1 Post harvest infrastructure
There is no post harvest infrastructure for tomato in the region. All post harvest activities such as sorting, grading etc. are being carried out manually. Farmers grade their produce on the basis of their understanding of pricing for different grades and feedback from the buyers. Secondary grading is done manually at trader’s level on the basis of feedback from consumption market.
Though there are pack houses in Nashik region, but none of them is used for tomato. As per the stakeholders, operational cost of pack houses and cold chain becomes expensive and the price recovery for the same becomes difficult.
Some corporate owning retail chains such as Reliance Fresh are in discussion with the existing pack houses in the region for using them for cut and packaged vegetables for their retail outlets. However, no such practice has been started so far.
6.2.2 Marketing Infrastructure
Pimpalgaon, Sangamner, Niphad, Lasalgaon and Nashik are major APMC markets for tomato. Among the above, Pimpalgaon is the biggest market for tomato. Apart from tomato, other major commodities traded in Pimpalgaon APMC are onion and loose grape berries. Details of crop arrival and market fee at Pimpalgaon market are as follows:
Commodity Arrival (MT) % of Commission
Tomato 117000 6
Onion 520000 4
Grape 2600 8
There are 96 registered commission agents dealing with tomato and 39 commission agents dealing with onion at Pimpalgaon APMC. 113 labourers are registered for loading/unloading operations and 39 are registered for weighment. Weighment charges fixed by the APMC are Rs. 2.12 per quintal and for loading/unloading Rs. 2.68 per quintal of produce. APMC takes a
deposit of Rs. 3 lakh from the commission agents as security deposit. Market fee and cess is charged @ 1.05%
As mentioned above, APMC has an electronic price display system, which displays the prices of major commodities in all major markets of the country. Other facilities include drinking water, canteen, ambulance etc.
APMC Pimpalgaon is spread over 10 acres and the space is inadequate to accommodate daily arrivals in the market. Most of the traders have to take space on rent outside the market premises to carry out the grading, sorting and dispatch operations. Hence, a new market is being developed by the APMC, which is about 7-8 kms from the existing market. An area of 100 acres has been purchased by the APMC for onion and tomato market. The existing premise is proposed to be used for pomegranate market once the existing tomato and onion operations shift to the new market.
6.2.3 Institutional Infrastructure
There are more than 3000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in the region, of which 849 are in Nashik district, 871 in Jalgaon district and 1287 are in Ahmednagar district. These PACS provide credit to the farmers for agricultural purposes. Rate of interest charged by them for crop loans is 6%. Term loan is also given by the societies for purchase of fixed assets such as drip irrigation system. The rate of interest charged by the societies for term loan is 12% for loan up to Rs. 3 lakhs and 14.5% for loan more than Rs. 3 lakhs.
There are no cooperative societies working for cultivation and marketing of tomato in Nashik region.
6.3 G
APS IN THE VALUE CHAINAn assessment of the range of activities under the value chain was undertaken to understand the gaps and inefficiencies in the tomato value chain. A detailed structured questionnaire survey was undertaken to map the existing supply chain and identification of gaps at each stage, with added focus on institutional, infrastructural and logistical barriers. After the detailed field survey, the gaps identified were discussed with a range of key stakeholders to get their feedback on the analysis and understanding of the issues. Some of the gaps identified in the value chain of mango are as follows:
• Tomato is graded at farm level, again at trader level and finally at retailer / exporter level also. Grading at each stage involves a cost and time and the produce goes through several hands. This causes loosening of skin and pulp and results in lower shelf life of the produce.
• Plastic crates used for tomato are changed at each level of the supply chain. Farmers use their own crates and traders have their own. Thus multiple handling is responsible for major losses in tomato, which manifests mostly at retail level. It is observed that more than 50% of total losses are at retail level but the same is a result of quality deterioration during previous stages.
• In case of tomatoes, wastages are as high as 30%-40% (in case of worse weather conditions) mainly due to attack of insect pest and disease, erratic climatic conditions and over ripening of fruit due to delayed harvesting.
6.4 P
OTENTIAL FOR INTERVENTIONBased on the need assessment of the tomato value chain, action plan were drawn-up and stakeholder consultations undertaken to identify areas of potential interventions. It is proposed to set up 2 pack houses for tomatoes in Nashik district and 1 pack house for tomatoes in Ahmednagar district. The proposed location for packhouse is Pimpalgaon and Nashik Road in Nashik district and Sangamner in Ahmednagar district. It is estimated that the throughput of tomatoes at Pimpalgaon would be around 4000 MT per annum and the other two packhouses would handle 2000 MT/annum of tomatoes each. Besides tomatoes, Pimpalgaon and Nashik Road packhouse would receive grapes and vegetables also. Sangamner APMC would also handle vegetables. The packhouses will have following facilities for tomatoes:
• Sorting • Grading • Packaging
The details of the facilities have been captured in the subsequent chapter.
• Interventions such as timely information dissemination on weather forecast, potential damage to the crop and suggested remedial actions may help reduce losses due to bad weather. Farmers should be educated on right stage of harvesting to prevent fruit over ripening.
• Instead of newspaper, there is a scope for using better cushioning material.
• There is a need to establish processing facilities for tomatoes in the region. As there is wide fluctuation in price of tomatoes, setting up of processing facilities would provide assured market for farm produces.