Marketing and Supply Chain of Fruits and Vegetables in Gujarat: Constraints, Price Spread, and Strategic Interventions

Abstract:

Gujarat occupies a pivotal position in India's horticultural economy, ranking sixth in vegetable production (1,85,01,856 MT) and fifth in fruit production (85,81,591 MT) nationally as of 2024-25. Despite this prominence, farmers in Gujarat receive only 37-69% of the final consumer price, depending on the crop, with substantial value being absorbed by intermediaries, logistics, and post-harvest losses. This review synthesises empirical evidence from peer-reviewed studies, institutional reports, and district-level horticultural data across Gujarat's four agro-climatic zones — South, Middle, North, and Saurashtra-Kutch — to examine the structure and performance of the fruit and vegetable supply chain. It systematically documents marketing constraints under six thematic categories: market intelligence, economic and price risks, physical infrastructure, logistics and distribution, market structure, and labour availability. Post-harvest losses range from 6.02-15.05% for fruits and 4.87-11.61% for vegetables. The review proposes targeted interventions including FPO-led aggregation, cold chain expansion, digital price discovery platforms, grading and standardisation, and policy reforms.