Price spread of ber (Ziziphus mauritiana) in Mehsana district of North Gujarat

The present study was carried out with a view to estimate the marketing costs, margins, price spread and marketing eficiency for ber(Ziziphus mauritiana) grown in Mehsana district of north Gujarat. The data were collected by survey method for the year 2013–14. Appropriate stati stical tools were applied for analyzing the data. The conclusion drawn from the study are that the average yield of ber per farmer and per hectare of land was esti mated to be 40.68 quintals and 123.27 quintals, respectively. Generally, the major quantity of ber sold through Wholesalers/Commission agents-retailers-consumers. The overall per quintal cost of marketing of ber produce was estimated to be Rs. 128.86 by the growers of Mehsana district in north Gujarat. Three marketing channels were observed amongst it, 80.01 per cent quantity of ber was sold through Channel-I [Producer (Contractor)-Wholesaler cum commission agents-retailer-consumer]. The net price received by the growers was Rs. 1045.97qtl−1, which accounted 59.34 per cent producers share in consumer's rupee. The average expenses incurred in the marketing of ber by the producers, wholesalers and retailers were 7.30, 6.73 and 8.67 per cent respectively. The total price spread was 40.66 per cent of consumer's price when produce was sold through wholesalers and retailers. The marketing eficiency estimated for ber was 1.46 for Mehsana market in North Gujarat.