An Economic Analysis of Marketing Efficiency of Maize in Tamil Nadu, India

Maize plays a significant role in the agricultural economy. Since, growers of maize have numerous marketing-related issues. The present study is made with an objective to identify the major maize marketing channels and analyze its cost incurred, price spread and efficiency. A well-structured interview schedule was used to collect primary data. Price spread analysis and marketing efficiency of maize marketing channels is estimated using Acharya and Shepard approach. The lowest marketing spread were observed in Channel III which was about 13.56 percent (Rs. 200 per quintal) of the consumer price, due to less intervention of intermediaries. Therefore, Channel III is the most efficient one among the identified marketing channels. Besides, Channel III has the highest marketing efficiency and the farmers should choose their marketing channel with the less number of intermediaries where it helps them attain better income.