Marketing of Apple in Northern Balochistan

Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.27, No.4, 2011

MARKETING OF APPLE IN NORTHERN BALOCHISTAN NISAR ALI SHAH*, MUHAMMAD AFZAL*, MANZOOR AHMED**, QAZI BASHIR AHMAD***, ARSHAD FAROOQ**** and FASIH UR REHMAN * Social Sciences Institute, National Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad – Pakistan. ** National Agricultural Research System, Agricultural Research Institute, Quetta – Pakistan. *** Fruit Farm, Agriculture Research Institute, Quetta – Pakistan. **** Technology Transfer Institute, (PARC), Tarnab Peshawar – Pakistan. ***** Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology, Islamabad – Pakistan. ABSTRACT The survey was launched to determine the apple marketing margins of major apple varieties in two common marketing channels. These are: Producer led marketing and Pre-harvest-contactor-led marketing system. Marketing margin in apple is very high. The price received by the farmers is low. Similarly, price transmission from consumers to producers is low and hence the condition is not conducive to expand the agribusiness. The producers’ share in distributive marketing margins for Tor Kulu (Red Delicious), Shin Kulu (Golden Delicious), Amri, Mashadi, Kashmiri and Kaja apple varieties were 24, 24, 19, 20, 19 and 31 %, respectively. In case of pre-harvest- contractor-led marketing whereas 33, 30, 27, 28, 25 and 43 % in producer-led marketing respectively. The aggregate marketing margins for all apple varieties was 73%, which shows that producers are receiving 27 % and the remaining price paid by the consumers is going to different marketing intermediaries. Key Words: Marketing, Intermediaries, Margins, Varieties. Citation: Shah, N. A., M. Afzal, M. Ahmed, Q. B. Ahmad, A. Farooq and F. U. Rehman. 2011. Marketing of apple in northern Balochistan. Sarhad J. Agric. 27(4): 617-624 INTRODUCTION Balochistan is the largest producer of fruits in Pakistan, therefore called as “Fruit basket of Pakistan”. In Pakistan, 0.991 million tones of total fruits are produced annually from area of 0.239 million hectares. Balochistan shares 32.6% and 17.4% of the country area and production, respectively. The drought has changed the overall situation; fruits orchards has declined considerably and so as the as the production. The losses fluctuate from place to place and ranges from 30 to 50% of the orchards became dried and uprooted. In northern Balochistan, about 60% of the fruit trees have dried and the remaining are unlikely to survive due to the receding water table. In the uplands of Loralai, Killi Saifulla and Pishin around 60-100% of the fruit trees have dried up. It is estimated that the production of apple which is one of the main fruits has reduced by at least 50%. A study conducted recently in the districts of Qila Saifulla and Mastung found that in 1999, 27% of the villages surveyed reported cutting down of some trees to save the remaining trees. In 2000 this number rose to 73%. It is a common phenomenon across the province now. Water is life but fruit crops are very susceptible to critical time for watering. If the water is not provided on time, the fruit may not attain desirable size. Beside this the drought affected the whole fruit industry and reduced its production capacity. Production of deciduous fruits in Balochistan has a special advantage over other fruit growing areas, because of its environmental condition. The diversity of climates in the province is a blessing for growing various fruit crops ranging from temperate to sub-tropical and tropical (FAO 1993). Out of these deciduous fruits, apples are the first largest planted fruit in Balochistan and it is second most produced fruit after dates in this province. It covers 0.101 million hectares with a production of 0.224 million tones. Apple contributing more than 42% and 23% of total areas and production of the country’s respectively (GoP 2006). Apple of the province is famous for its special taste and quality. The fruit production is often in excess of the local demand of the province and the surplus is exported to other provinces of Pakistan. Therefore the significant quantity of apple of the province is traded to other provinces mainly Punjab and Sindh. Production of apple in Balochistan is synchronized by the apple production in Northern Areas, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and hilly areas of Punjab province. Iqbal (1994) mentioned that, market for Balochistani apple which constitutes about 70% of the deciduous fruits in Balochistan, is badly affected by large volumes of apple infiltrated from Iran and Afghanistan into Quetta market where apart from sale for local consumption, it is regarded, repacked and redirected to others primary wholesale markets of the country. The Iranian apples are sold at low price and Nisar Ali Shah et al. Marketing of apples in northern Balochistan … 618 evidently depress the prices for Balochistani apple. Sharif et al. (1998) reported that supplies from Iran and Afghanistan are illegal and almost impossible to be checked. Apple producing areas in highland of Balochistan comprising Quetta, Pishin, Loralai, Zhob, Ziarat, Qilla Saifullah, Mastung, Kalat and Khuzdar districts (Table I). District Pishin is the major producer of apple in Northern Balochistan, which contributes about 22 % of the total production of the northern highland of Balochistan (GoP 2006). Table I District-wise production of apple in Northern Highland Balochistan District Total Area (Hec) Production (tonns) Rank Production wise Quetta 1356 2316 VIII Pishin 5579 30170 I Killa Abdullah 4592 23577 III Loralai 1526 9547 VI Musa Khel 116 460 IX Barkhan 1121 7001 VII Zhob 6378 19134 V Killa Saifullah 68452 23817 II Ziarat 2240 21736 IV Source: Agricultural Statistics of Pakistan 2005-06 A number of varieties of apple grown in Pishin district. Among these, Tor Kulu (Red Delicious), Shin Kulu (Golden Delicious), Amri, Mashadi, Kashmiri are commonly grown commercial varieties. Kaja, a newly introduced early maturity variety in the area is also showing promising results and area under this variety is increasing rapidly. Shah et al. (2000) mentioned that Tor Kulu, Shin Kulu, Amri, Mashdi, Kashmiri and Kaja varieties of apple contributed 57, 29, 4, 1.60, 7.68 and 0.72 % respectively in the target area. Tor Kulu (Red Delicious) is most popular apple variety among the consumers and farmers. It accounts for about 35 % of apple produced in Balochistan. It is fragrant, juicy and crispy with rational size. Shin Kulu (Golden Delicious) ranks second in popularity. Size of the fruit is medium to large. Flavour is juicy with acidic sweet taste. It accounts for about 40% of apple produced in Balochistan. Botos (1999), has concluded that the profitability of production and market size are more important consideration than size alone in assessing the economic viability of production units. Virender and Khattkar (1994) suggested that the packing material and transportation costs are the major components of the marketing costs. Direct sales benefited the producers more than contract sales. The main thrust of the study was to find out marketing margins for different varieties of apple. The overall marketing margins, for all apple varieties taken together and for this purpose the study was designed with two fold objectives: to study the marketing channels of apple; and to find out the apple marketing margins and costs. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study is based on primary and secondary data. The primary data which was directly obtained through a well structured and pretested questionnaires from farmers, pre-harvest contractors, commission agents, wholesalers, retailers, cold storage owners, and consumers. The lists of commission agent, wholesalers of apple in Quetta market, retailers of fruits in Quetta city were obtained from District Market Committee Officer Quetta. A list of major apple producing villages in sub division Pishin was obtained from District Agriculture Officer, Pishin and used for the sampling. This study was conducted in three sub divisions of district Pishin namely, Pishin, Karezat and Barshore. Five villages Manzaki, Huramzai, Samzai, Kakazai and Alizai were selected. Marketing Margins The margins of market intermediaries include profit and return, the general expression for estimating the margin for intermediaries is given below: Intermediaries Margins = Gross Price (sale price) – Price Paid (cost price) – Cost of Marketing - Loss in Value during Wholesaling Net marketing margin of the wholesaler is given mathematically by MMW = GPW – GPF – CW- (LW X GPW) or MMW ={GPW -GPF} – {CW} – {LW X GPW} ……. (2) Where MMW is net margin of the wholesaler (Rs/kg) GPW is wholesalers; gross price to retailer or purchase price of retailer (Rs/kg) CW is cost incurred by the wholesalers during marketing (Rs/kg) Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.27, No.4, 2011 619

GPF is gross price received by the farmers or wholesale price to farmers (Rs/kg) LW is physical loss in the produce at the wholesale level (per kg). The areas of higher concentration of apple production, were selected for this study. The methods used for data collection are presented in this section. The distribution of sample farmers of apple producers is presented in Table II. Forty five farmers were interviewed as proportionate of all three farm sizes in the sample frame (195 apple producers). These include 22 small, 117 medium and 56 large farmers. Table II Distribution of sample farmers producing apple Size of Farm Number of Producers Percent Below 10 acres) 5 11.11 10 acres to below 20 acres 27 60.00 20 acres and above 13 28.89 Total 45 100 Source: Survey results 2004/05 Approximately four weeks were spent to assemble all the required information. In order to achieve the objectives, both primary and secondary sources of information were used. The interviews were conducted at their premises. A team consisting of an economist from technology transfer institute (TTI), SSI and fruit expert conducted the present survey in the month of February 2005. Great care was taken in the collecting of data about apple marketing practices. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The apple marketing margin channels were the major objective under investigation for this study. Marketing channels is a process of selling of different commodities at different stages which involve a number of intermediaries like pre harvest contractors, commission agents, wholesalers and retailers. Producer-led and pre- harvest-contractors-led are the two well known marketing channels prevailing in this study. The contractors have intended Lahore as the biggest market and on the other hand producers are selling their product with different quantities to Karachi, Quetta, Islamabad and Lahore markets. Table III Sales of apple by producers and pre harvest contractors through different wholesale fruits markets in the country Name of Fruits Market Percentage Sale by Producers Percentage Sale by contractors Quetta 22.29 10.14 Lahore 17.11 72.00 Karachi 32.11 13.07 Multan 4.94 2.43 Gujranwala 1.31 00.00 Islamabad 20.38 1.82 Hyderabad 00.00 0.54 Peshawar 0.62 00.00 DG Khan 1.24 00.00 Total 100 100 Source: Survey results 2005 The facts can’t be denied that a long chain of intermediaries marketing operation is less efficient and more costly, as each intermediary in this chain has a role and percentage share. In Pishin district, it was observed that about 20% of producers were directly marketing their produce while the remaining 80% were selling their apple orchards to pre-harvest contractors (Shah et al., 2000). They further reported that pre-harvest contractors buy apple orchards at blossom as well as at maturity of fruit. About 63% of producers sold their orchards to pre-harvest contractors at blossom stage and 37% at mature stage. Producers as well as pre-harvest contractors sell apple through various markets of the country as this has been shown in Fig. 1. Percentage share of apple sold in various markets, by producers as well as pre-harvest contractors (Table III). The marketing channels common in Pishin are: Producer- Preharvest Contractor- Commission Agent-Wholesalers- Retailer-Consumers. (79.79%). Producer- Commission Agent-Wholesalers- Retailer-Consumers. (20.21%). Henceforth the first marketing channel will be called as channel-1 and the second marketing channel as channel-2: These marketing channels are shown in Fig. 1. Nisar Ali Shah et al. Marketing of apples in northern Balochistan … 620

Price Spread Price spread is the difference between the retail price and the price received by growers at the farm gate i.e., farm-retail price spread. It is best indicator of marketing efficiency. The less the price spread, the better will be the marketing efficiency. Price spread for various varieties is given in Table IV. Price spread (%) for various varieties ranged from Rs. 235 to Rs.393 per crate of apple with minimum Rs 235 for Kaja and maximum of Rs 393 for Kashmiri. Table IV Price and volume of spread of selected apple varieties in 2004-05 Apple Price (Rs/Crate) Price Spread Variety Farm gate Auction Wholesale Retail Farm gate Auction Wholesale Retail Tor Kulu 118 217 262 360 100 184 222 300 Shin Kulu 102 200 240 338 100 196 235 331 Amri 85 180 208 306 100 212 245 360 Mashadi 91 188 225 323 100 207 248 357 Kashmiri 82 179 226 324 100 218 275 393 Kaja 208 317 370 486 100 153 179 235 Source: Survey results 2005 Weight of crate=18 kgs Marketing margins in both the channels for all six major apple varieties are summarized in Table V and VI. Marketing costs incurred by various market intermediaries are also given in each appendix.

Apple Producer

Pre-harvest Contractor

Local Commission Other Province Agent (Arhatis) Commission Agent (Arhatis)

Local Wholesalers Distant Wholesalers (Mashakhore/Parias) (Mashakhore/Parias)

Local retailers Distant Retailer

Consumers

______Major Flow ------Minor Flow

Fig. 1. Marketing channel of apple in Pishin Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.27, No.4, 2011 621

Marketing Margins Marketing Margins is the difference between the price received by producers and the price paid by the consumer of produce. It is also computed as the percentage share of final price received by each marketing intermediary. In case of Tor Kulu, the farm gate price is 100 and retail price paid by the consumer is 300. The margin of 200 goes to various intermediaries working in the marking chain. The volume of marketing margins reflect the efficiency of marketing system i.e. the higher marketing margins reflect less share of producer in consumer’s rupee and more benefits to marketing middlemen and vice-versa. Apple Producer Margin/Cost For the produce marketed through channel-1, the farmer received 22.85% of price paid by the final consumer. In this channel marketing costs were zero for producer, because he sold his orchard to pre-harvest contractor who paid him and undertook the marketing. His net margin for different varieties ranged from Rs.59 per crate to Rs 150. The highest net marketing margin was for Kaja Rs. 150 per crate and lowest net marketing margin for Kashmiri Rs. 63 per crate. Marketing margins for other varieties ranged between Rs. 63 to Rs. 85.50 per crate. For the apple marketed through channel-2, the farmer received 31.11% of price paid by the final consumer. His costs per crate ranged from Rs. 95.50 to Rs. 109.20 for various apple varieties. Maximum cost per crate was for Kaja (Rs. 109.20) per crate and the highest net margin was also for Kaja (Rs. 208.80). Lowest cost per crate was for Amri (Rs. 95.50) and the lowest net margin was for Kashmiri (Rs. 81.60). Marketing cost for other varieties ranged from Rs. 97.50 to Rs. 99.20 per crate and the net margins ranged from 81.60 to 207.80 per crate (Table V and VI). Pre-harvest Contractor Margin/Cost For the apple marketed through channel 1, the Pre-harvest contractor received 9.63% of price paid by the final consumer. His cost per crate ranged from Rs. 154.50 to 259.50 for various apple varieties. Highest cost per crate was for Kaja Rs. 259.50 and highest net margin was also for Kaja Rs. 60.50. Lowest cost per crate was for Amri Rs. 154.50 and the lowest net margin was also for Amri Rs. 25.50. Marketing costs for other varieties ranged between Rs. 159.50 to Rs. 185 per crate. Net margin for those varieties were between Rs. 27.80 to Rs.35 per crate. Commission Agent Margin/Cost For the apple marketed through channel 1, the Commission agent received 4.51% of price paid by the final consumer. Maximum net margin was for Kaja Rs. 25 per crate and the lowest net margin was for Amri Rs. 11. Net margin for other varieties were between Rs. 12 to Rs. 15 per crate. For the apple marketed through channel 2, the Commission agent received 4.15% of price paid by the final consumer. The retailer’s costs per crate were Rs. 7. Highest net margin was for Kaja Rs. 24.68 per crate and the lowest net margin was for Kashmiri Rs. 10.87. Net margin for other varieties were between Rs. 10.89 to Rs. 14 per crate (Table V - VI). Wholesaler Margin/Cost For the apple marketed through channel 1, the wholesaler received 5.34% of price paid by the final consumer. His costs per crate were Rs.196.65 to Rs. 337.65 for various apple varieties. Highest cost per crate was for Kaja Rs. 337.65 and highest net margin was for Kaja Rs. 32.35 per crate and the lowest cost per crate was for Amri Rs. 196.65 and the lowest net margin was also for Amri Rs. 11.35. Marketing costs for other varieties were between Rs. 207.65 to Rs. 237.65 per crate. Net margin for other varieties were between Rs. 15.35 to Rs. 24.35 per crate. For the apple marketed through channel 2, the wholesalers received 6.61% of price paid by the final consumer. His costs per crate ranged from Rs. 196.65 to Rs. 334.65 for various apple varieties. Maximum cost per crate was for Kaja Rs. 334.65. Highest net margins was for Kaja Rs. 35.35 per crate and the lowest cost per crate was Rs. 196.65 for both Kashmiri and Amri and the lowest net margin was for Amri Rs. 11.35. Marketing cost for other varieties ranged from Rs. 205.65 to Rs. 234.65 per crate. Net margin for other varieties were between Rs. 19.35 to Rs. 27.35 per crate (Table V and VI). Retailer Margin/Cost For the apple marketed through channel 1, the retailer received 14.12% of price paid by the final consumer. His costs per crate ranged from Rs. 259 to Rs. 421 for various apple varieties. Maximum cost per crate was for Kaja Rs. 421 and highest net margin was also for Kaja Rs. 65. Lowest cost per crate was for Amri Rs. 259 and the lowest net margin was for Amri Rs. 47. Marketing costs for other varieties were between Rs. 276 to Rs. 313 per crate. For the apple marketed through channel 2, the retailer received 14.11% of price paid by the final consumer. Retailer’s costs per crate ranged from Rs. 256 to Rs. 421 for various apple varieties. Maximum cost per crate was for Kaja Nisar Ali Shah et al. Marketing of apples in northern Balochistan … 622

Rs.421 per crate and highest net margin was also for Kaja Rs. 65. Lowest cost per crate was for Amri Rs. 256 and the lowest net margin was for Kashmiri Rs. 47 (Table V & VI). Table V Marketing costs and margins for different Apple varieties (Rs/Crate) channel 1 Trade Level and Costs Tor Kulu Shin Kulu Amri Mashadi Kashmiri Kaja Farmer Contracted Price 85.50 81.00 59.00 64.00 63.00 150.00 Preharvest Contractor Purchase Price 85.50 81.00 59.00 64.00 63.00 150.00 Orchard Management costs 8.50 8.50 8.50 8.50 8.50 8.50 Picking,sorting, grading, packing costs 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 Packing material 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 Tranport/loading/unloading cost 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 Cold storage charges 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 Commission agent fee 22.00 20.70 18.00 19.20 19.00 32.00 Value of physical losses 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 Zilla tax and Octroi etc 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 Others costs 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 Total costs 185.00 179.20 154.50 160.70 159.50 259.50 Gross income 220.00 207.00 180.00 192.00 190.00 320.00 Net Masrgin 35.00 27.80 25.50 31.30 30.50 60.50 Commission Agent Auction price 220.00 207.00 180.00 192.00 190.00 320.00 Wholesaler Purchase price 220.00 207.00 179.00 192.00 190.00 320.00 Transport charges 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.20 Rent of shop 7.73 7.73 7.73 7.73 7.73 7.73 Sorting and repacking charges 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 Wastage 5.72 5.72 5.72 5.72 5.72 5.72 Total costs 237.65 224.65 196.65 209.65 207.65 337.65 Gross income 262.00 240.00 208.00 225.00 226.00 370.00 Net margin 24.35 15.35 11.35 15.35 18.35 32.35 Retailer Purchase price 262.00 240.00 208.00 225.00 226.00 370.00 Rent of shop 2.43 2.43 2.46 2.46 2.43 2.46 Sorting Costs 1.63 1.63 1.63 1.63 1.63 1.63 Repacking costs 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 Transportation costs 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.75 Labour charges 7..15 7..15 7..15 7.15 4..15 7.15 Other costs 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 Wastage 30.16 30.16 30.16 30.16 30.16 30.16 Total Costs 313.08 291.08 259.11 276.11 277.08 421.11 Gross income 360.00 338.00 306.00 323.00 324.00 486.00 Net margin 47.00 47.00 47.00 47.00 47.00 65.00 Consumers Purchase price 360 338.00 306.00 323.00 324.00 486.00 Source: Survey Results 2004-05 (Standard weight per crate =18 kg) Sarhad J. Agric. Vol.27, No.4, 2011 623

Table VI Marketing costs and margins for different Apple varieties (Rs/Crate) channel 2 Trade Level and Costs Tor Kulu Shin Kulu Amri Mashadi Kashmiri Kaja Farmer Sale Price 217.00 200.00 179.00 188.00 179.00 150.00 Orchard Management costs 8.50 8.50 8.50 8.50 8.50 8.50 Picking, sorting, grading, packing costs 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 15.00 Packing material 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00 Tranport/loading/unloading cost 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 Cold storage charges 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 12.00 Commission agent fee 21.70 20.00 18.00 18.80 19.90 31.70 Value of physical losses 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 Zilla tax and Octroi etc 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 Others costs 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 Total costs 101.75 97.50 95.50 96.30 97.40 109.20 Gross income 217.00 200.00 179.00 188.00 179.00 317.00 Net Masrgin 115.25 102.50 83.50 91.70 81.60 207.80 Commission Agent Auction price 217.00 200.00 179.00 188.00 179.00 317.00 Wholesaler Purchase price 217.00 200.00 179.00 188.00 179.00 317.00 Transport charges 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.20 1.20 Rent of shop 7.73 7.73 7.73 7.73 7.73 7.73 Sorting and repacking charges 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 3.00 Wastage 5.72 5.72 5.72 5.72 5.72 5.72 Total costs 234.65 217.65 196.65 205.65 196.65 334.65 Gross income 262.00 240.00 208.00 225.00 226.00 370.00 Net margin 27.35 22.35 11.35 19.35 29.35 35.35 Retailer Purchase price 262.00 240.00 208.00 225.00 226.00 370.00 Rent of shop 2.43 2.43 2.43 2.43 2.43 2.46 Sorting Costs 1.63 1.63 1.63 1.63 1.63 1.63 Repacking costs 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 Transportation costs 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.75 4.75 Labour charges 7.15 7.15 4.15 7.15 7.15 7.15 Other costs 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 3.46 Wastage 30.16 30.16 30.16 30.16 30.16 30.16 Total Costs 313.08 291.08 259.11 276.11 277.08 421.11 Gross income 360.00 338.00 306.00 323.00 324.00 486.00 Net margin 47.00 47.00 47.00 47.00 47.00 65.00 Consumers Purchase price 360.00 338.00 306.00 323.00 324.00 486.00 Source: Survey Results 2004-05 (Standard weight per crate =18 kg) CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS The overall margin, for all apple varieties taken together, was 73% as it is above the economic profit. This means that the producer is receiving only 27% of the price paid by the ultimate consumer and the rest (73%) was going to various market intermediaries. It highlights that marketing margins for all the varieties of apple are very high. Small scale producers are not in position to sell their product directly to other markets as it need price information, volume of product, and capital required. Some of the progressive farmers do it directly. Farmers’ cooperative marketing is one of the ways to sell their product to other markets directly to fetch high profit. The net marketing margin of marketing intermediaries was 25% while the rest 48% was their cost. The cost items of pre- harvest contractor included: orchard management, picking, sorting and packing, packing material, transport charges, cold storage charges, commission agent fee, physical losses and taxes. The commission agent cost items included, wages and salaries of labour, rent of shop, utility bill etc., Costs borne by wholesaler included transport charges, rent of shop, repacking, storage charges and wastage losses. The retailer cost items included, rent of shop, sorting and repacking of produce, transport charges, labour charges and wastage. The study findings concluded that marketing channel-2 has comparatively yielded better benefit as compared to channel-1. The producers get 31% of price paid by the consumers than 27% as recorded through channel-1. Still there is a scope to increase price received by the farmers and increase price share transmission from consumer’s area to producer’s region through market legislation. Nisar Ali Shah et al. Marketing of apples in northern Balochistan … 624

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