Production and Marketing Management of Value Added Products of Foodgrains in North Karnataka

Abstract

The current study is focused on production and marketing management of value added newlineproducts of food-grains in North Karnataka. For the study, three cereals viz., paddy, wheat and newlinemaize and three pulses like bengalgram, redgram and greengram were selected. For the newlineselection of processing industries, proportionate sampling was adopted with total of 149 newlineprocessing industries. Primary data were collected from processing units, market newlineintermediaries and consumers through personal interviews using well-structured and pretested newlineschedules for the agricultural year 2018-19 and secondary data relating to costs and returns newlineinvolved in the production of value-added products were obtained from processing units. newlineA large number of value-added products were identified in the study area. According newlineto the study, food grain processing units have higher employment generation because of range newlineof activities involved in the milling/processing process which in turn requires newlineskilled/specialized laborers. Economics of value addition revealed that, variable cost accounts newlinefor more than 95 per cent in almost all the units. Higher net returns were observed in products newlinelike murmura, starch, fried gram and redgram dal compared to other products. Raw rice newline(1.23), steam rice (1.08), murmura (1.34), bengalgram dal (1.32), redgram dal (1.03) and newlinegreengram dal (1.63) processing units showed increasing returns to scale. The processors newlineshare in consumer rupee ranged between 50 - 87 per cent in all the processing units. Usually newlinethe value added products of food grains are purchased monthly, except rice flour, starch, newlinemaida, bombayrawa, bengalgram whole, fried gram and greengram dal. The high price of raw newlinematerials, lack of availability of sufficient raw materials, high moisture content and high newlinetransportation costs were the major constraints faced by the processing units. Fluctuations in newlinethe price of the products, high transportation costs, delay in payments were the major newlineconstraints faced by the market intermediaries in North-Karnataka.