Vol. 7, Issue 10, Part H (2025)

This study examines the marketing channels and their efficiency in the tomato agribusiness sector within Ballia district, Uttar Pradesh. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is a high-value, widely cultivated vegetable crop with significant economic importance due to its nutritional value and market demand. The research employed purposive-cum-random sampling to select 100 tomato farmers across different landholding categories, along with wholesalers, distributors, and retailers, to analyze the marketing costs, margins, price spread, producer’s share in consumer rupee, and overall marketing efficiency. Three marketing channels were analyzed: Channel 1 (Producer → Consumer), Channel 2 (Producer → Wholesaler → Retailer → Consumer), and Channel 3 (Producer → Commission Agent → Wholesaler → Retailer → Consumer). The producer sale price remained constant at ₹1900 per quintal across all channels, while marketing costs borne by producers were ₹630 per quintal. The final consumer prices varied, with ₹3000, ₹3200, and ₹3400 per quintal for Channels 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The producer’s share in consumer rupee decreased progressively from 63.33% in Channel 1 to 59.38% in Channel 2 and 55.88% in Channel 3. Correspondingly, marketing efficiency declined from 2.77 to 1.85 and 1.61 across the channels, indicating increased intermediary costs and reduced benefits for producers in longer chains. The study highlights the need for streamlined marketing channels, reduced intermediaries, and improved infrastructure to enhance producer profitability and supply chain efficiency. Policy interventions such as promoting Farmer Producer Organizations and direct marketing can significantly improve farmers’ income and market access in the tomato agribusiness sector.