Policy and Institutional Reforms to Improve Horticultural Markets in Pakistan (ADP/2014/043) DRAFT REPORT 03/18 Preliminary Report of Marketing Channel Survey (Mangoes) in Rahim Yar Khan and Multan. Information Collected from Growers and Contractors. Nauman Ejaz Assistant Professor International Islamic University Islamabad
[email protected] Abstract This reports preliminary results and observations on the supply chain and marketing issues including relationships between the various stakeholders (farmers, contractors, retailers, etc.), their respective profit margins and the stages through which mango flows from the farm to the consumer (marketing channels). It is based on information collected from interviews and discussions with a sample of selected mango growers and (pre-harvest) contractors in Rahim Yar Khan and Multan districts, two of the largest and most famous mango producing regions in Pakistan, during the peak mango season in July 2018. The preliminary findings suggest that the dominant system of mango marketing is the one where growers enter into pre-harvest contracts with contractors, who then sell their produce through commission agents. Often but not always entering into pre-harvest contracts and advance payment arrangements with them - and sometimes with exporters, is a stable system because it is attractive to all parties as it provides efficient methods for risk sharing and risk management. The relationships between contracting parties are informal but typically long term. But the system does not seem to provide incentives to growers to enhance quality or productivity, or acquire better skills and expertise, though there is some limited evidence of a quality premium being received by the contractors. As many growers as well as contractors consider mango as a part time occupation and a source of supplemental income, they are also unwilling to exert much effort on direct sales to wholesalers or exporters.