Abstract

The difference between the price paid by the consumer and the price received by the producer of an agricultural commodity, is termed as the Price Spread'. This price spread usually represents the cost of marketing and includes charges incurred for handling, transport and assembling besides the profits appropriated by the middlemen. Price spread studies enable ascertaining the marketing costs, with a view to find out ways and means of lessening the same for the benefit of both the growers and the consumers. Even in advanced countries like United States of America and England, where the farmers are more enlightened, the share of the consumer's price received by the producer is only about 50 per cent at times. To encourage the agriculturists to produce more, it is imperative that we should create conditions wherein the producer may be able to get a larger share of the consumer's rupee. Hence, these price spread studies are important and necessary, so that the bottlenecks in marketing may be eschewed and a scientific assessment of the need and efficiency of the various agencies employed in marketing may be made.

Keywords: