Types of Agricultural Marketing
Types of Agricultural Marketing
Definition of Market

“Economists understand by the term market not any particular market place in which things are bought and sold but the whole of any region in which buyers and sellers are in such free intercourse with one another that the price of the same goods tends to equality easily and quickly.”

The word market originated from the latin word ‘marcatus’ which means merchandise or trade or a place where business is conducted.

Types of Agriculture Markets
On the Basis of Location or Place of Operation

(a) Village Market: Market which is located in a small village, where major transactions take place among the buyers and sellers normally residing in that village, is called a village market.

(b) Primary Markets: Located in towns near the centers of production of agricultural commodities. In these markets, a major part of the produce is brought for sale by the producer-farmers themselves. Transactions in these markets usually take place between the farmers and primary traders.

(c) Secondary Wholesale Markets: These markets are located generally at district headquarters or important trade centers or near railway junctions. The major transactions of commodities in these markets take place between the village traders and wholesalers. The produce in these markets is handled in large quantities. There are, therefore, specialized marketing agencies performing different marketing functions, such as those of commission agents, brokers and weighmen in these markets. These markets help in assembling commodities from neighboring district/tehsil/state.

(d) Terminal Markets: In these markets, merchants are well organized and use modern methods of marketing. Commodity exchanges exist in these markets which provide facilities for forward trading in specific commodities. Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Cochin are terminal markets in India for many commodities.

(e) Seaboard Markets: Markets which are located near the seashore and are meant mainly for the import and/or export of goods are known as seaboard markets. These are generally seaport towns. Examples of these markets in India are Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkatta and Cochin (Kochi)

On the Basis of Area/Coverage

(a) Local or Village Markets: A market in which the buying and selling activities are confined among the buyers and sellers drawn from the same village or nearby villages. The village markets exist mostly for perishable commodities in small lots, e.g., local milk market or vegetable market.

(b) Regional Markets: A market in which buyers and sellers for a commodity are drawn from a larger area than the local markets. Regional markets in India usually exist for food grains.

(c) National Markets: A market in which buyers and sellers spread at the national level. Earlier national markets existed for only durable goods like jute and tea. But with the expansion of roads, transport and communication facilities, the markets for most of the products have taken the form of national markets.

(d) World or International Market: A market in which the buyers and sellers are drawn from more than one country or the whole world. These are the biggest markets from the area point of view. These markets exist for the commodities which have a world-wide demand and/or supply, such as coffee, machinery, gold, silver, etc. In recent 8 years many countries are moving towards a regime of liberal international trade in agricultural products like raw cotton, sugar, rice and wheat.

On the Basis of Time Span:

(a) Short period Markets: The markets which are held only for a day or few hours are called short-period markets. The products dealt within these markets are of a highly perishable nature, such as fish, fresh vegetables, and liquid milk. In these markets, the prices of commodities are governed mainly by the extent of demand for, rather than by the supply of, the commodity.

(b) Periodic Markets: The periodic markets are congregation of buyers and sellers at specified places either in villages, semi-urban areas or some parts of urban areas on specific days and time. Major commodities traded in these markets is the farm produce grown in the hinterlands. The periodic markets are held weekly, biweekly, fortnightly or monthly according to the local traditions. These are similar to ‘spontaneous markets’ in several developed countries.

(c) Long-period Markets: These markets are held for a longer period than the short-period markets. The commodities traded in these markets are less perishable and can be stored for some time; like foodgrains and oilseeds. The prices are governed both by the supply and demand forces.

(d) Secular Markets: These are markets of a permanent nature. The commodities traded in these markets are durable in nature and can be stored for many years. Examples are markets for machinery and manufactured goods.

On the Basis of Volumes of Transactions:

(a) Wholesale Markets: A wholesale market is one in which commodities are bought and sold in large lots or in bulk. These markets are generally located in either towns or cities. The economic activities in and around these markets are so intense that over time the population tends to get concentrated around these markets. These markets occupy an extremely important link in the marketing chain of all the commodities including farm products. The wholesale markets for farm products in India can be classified as primary, secondary and terminal wholesale markets. The primary wholesale markets are in the nature of assembling centres located in and around producing regions. The transactions in primary wholesale markets take place mainly between farmers and traders. Secondary wholesale markets are generally located between primary wholesale and terminal markets. The transactions in these markets take place between primary wholesalers and traders of terminal market.

(b) Retail Markets: A retail market is one in which commodities are bought by and sold to the consumers as per their requirements. Transactions in these markets take place between retailers and consumers. The retailers purchase the goods from wholesale market and sell in small lots to the consumers in retail markets. These markets are very near to the consumers. The distinction between the wholesale and retain market can be made mainly on the basis of buyer. A retail market means that the buyers are generally ultimate consumers, whereas in the wholesale market the buyers can be wholesalers or retailers. But sometimes-bulk consumers also purchase from the wholesale markets. The quantity transacted in retail markets is generally smaller than that in the wholesale markets.

On the Basis of Nature of Transactions:

(a) Spot or Cash Markets: A market in which goods are exchanged for money immediately after the sale is called the spot or cash market.

(b) Forward Markets: A market in which the purchase and sale of a commodity takes place at time t but the exchange of the commodity takes place on some specified date in future i.e., time t + 1. Sometimes even on the specified date in the future (t + 1), there may not be any exchange of the commodity. Instead, the differences in the purchase and sale prices are paid or taken.

On the Basis of Number of Commodities

(a) General Markets: A market in which all types of commodities, such as food grains, oilseeds, fibre crops, gur, etc., are bought and sole is known as general market. These markets deal in a large number of commodities.

(b) Specialized Markets: A market in which transactions take place only in one or two commodities is known as a specialized market. For every group of commodities, separate markets exist. The examples of specialized markets are food grain markets, vegetable markets, wool market and cotton market.

On the Basis of Degree of Competition:

(a) Perfect Markets: A perfect market is one in which the following conditions hold good:

(i) There is a large number of buyers and sellers;

(ii) All the buyers and sellers in the market have perfect knowledge of demand, supply and prices;

(iii) Prices at any one time are uniform over a geographical area, plus or minus the cost of getting supplies from surplus to deficit areas;

(iv) The prices of different forms of a product are uniform, plus or minus the cost of converting the product from one form to another.

(b) Imperfect Markets: The markets in which the conditions of perfect competition are lacking are characterized as imperfect markets. The following situations, each based on the degree of imperfection, may be identified:

(i) Monopoly Market: Monopoly is a market situation in which there is only one seller of a commodity. He exercises sole control over the quantity or price of the commodity. In this market, the price of a commodity is generally higher than in other markets. Indian farmers operate in monopoly market when purchasing electricity for irrigation. When there is only one buyer of a product, the market is termed as a monopsony market.

(ii) Duopoly Market: A duopoly market is one which has only two sellers of a commodity. They may mutually agree to charge a common price which is higher than the hypothetical price in a common market. The market situation in which there are only two buyers of a commodity is known as the duopsony market.

(iii) Oligopoly Market: A market in which there are more than two but still a few sellers of a commodity is termed as an oligopoly market. A market having a few (more than two) buyers is known as oligopsony market.

(iv) Monopolistic Competition: When a large number of sellers deal in heterogeneous and differentiated form of a commodity, the situation is called monopolistic competition. The difference is made conspicuous by different trade marks on the product. Different prices prevail for the same basic product. Examples of monopolistic competition faced by farmers may be drawn from the input markets. For example, they have to chose between various makes of insecticides, pump sets, fertilizers and equipment.

On the Basis of Nature of Commodities:

(a) Commodity Markets: A market which deals in goods and raw materials, such as wheat, barley, cotton, fertilizer, seed, etc., are termed as commodity markets.

(b) Capital Markets: The market in which bonds, shares and securities are bought and sold are called capital markets; for example, money markets and share markets.

On the Basis of Stage of Marketing:

(a) Producing Markets: Those markets which mainly assemble the commodity for further distribution to other markets are termed as producing markets. Such markets are located in producing areas.

(b) Consuming Markets: Markets which collect the produce for final disposal to the consuming population are called consumer markets. Such markets are generally located in areas where production is inadequate, or in thickly populated urban centers.

On the Basis of Extent of Public Intervention:

(a) Regulated Markets: These are those markets in which business is done in accordance with the rules and regulations framed by the statutory market organization representing different sections involved in markets. The marketing costs in such markets are standardized and, marketing practices are regulated.

(b) Unregulated Markets: These are the markets in which business is conducted without any set rules and regulations. Traders frame the rules for the conduct of the business and run the market. These markets suffer from many ills, ranging from unstandardized charges for marketing functions to imperfections in the determination of prices.

On the Basis of Type of Population Served

(a) Urban Market: A market which serves mainly the population residing in an urban area is called an urban market. The nature and quantum of demand for agricultural products arising from the urban population is characterized as urban market for farm products.

(b) Rural Market: The word rural market usually refers to the demand originating from the rural population. There is considerable difference in the nature of embedded services required with a farm product between urban and rural demands.

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Source: EAgri

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