16315
Marketing and
Economics
Small and commercial farmers in many countries grow papaya for both local and
foreign markets. The local markets prefer medium and large-fruited varieties that
have red and yellow flesh. Papaya fruits for export are usually small or of medium
size (Codex 2005; Stice et al. 2010) with red, orange or yellow flesh (Pesante 2003;
Picha 2006). Both hermaphrodite fruits (oblong to pear-shaped) and female fruits
( roundish) are usually accepted by consumers in some countries, but only those
fruits are preferred that are fresh, free from bruises, blemishes and uniform in
size and ripening. The latest Codex alimentation standards for papaya have been
amended in 2005 and included standards regarding quality, size, uniformity,
packaging, labelling, contaminants and hygiene (Codex 2005).
15.1 Marketing
Markets of papaya for domestic use, export, processing plants etc. are available in
India. There are several fruit traders and consolidators who buy papaya fruits from
producers and transport to the different cities for retailers. Some big fruit proces-
sors and exporters directly enter into the growers market through contract farming.
Other growers also have their own market outlets. Prices in the market depend upon
supply and demand situation, and vary according to fruit quality, variety, seasons, etc.
However, papaya has a big export demand but only a few exporting companies have
access to markets because of the stringent quality requirements and big capital out-
lay. Ripening, packing, transportation and selling are the main marketing functions
involved in the process of papaya marketing. Fruits are packed with the help of paper
in corrugated fiber board (CFB). Better packing always helps in maintaining the qual-
ity and also reducing the losses during transit on the account of spoilage. Generally,
the papaya fruits are being transported by trucks. The producer sells its maximum
quantity through commission agent-cum-wholesaler at the farm level. About 76% of
the sample farmers sold their produce to commission agents-cum-wholesalers and
remaining 24% of the farmers sold them to the distant markets (Devi and Saran
2014). The commission agent in the distant market arranged for sale in the market
and charged a commission (10%) for sale of proceeds from producer and seller. Two
marketing channels have been identified by Shivannavar (2005) as follows:
Channel-I: Producer _ commission agent-cum-wholesaler _ retailer _ consumer.
Channel-II: Producer _ commission agent _ wholesaler _ retailer _ consumer.In India, Channel-I was most commonly used (76%) by the sample papaya growers.
Here the commission agent-cum-wholesaler himself comes to the farm and fixes the