Wholesale Pulse Market of Posta Chapter Notes | Window on the Word Class 7: Solutions, Notes & Worksheets PDF Download

Journey of a Product to Wholesale Market

In the previous chapter, we learned about the various types of markets that fulfill our needs. This chapter focuses on tracing the path of a product from its origin to a wholesale market.

Product Journey Overview:

• Product journey commences with production or manufacturing.
• Products pass through several intermediaries before reaching consumers.

Understanding Intermediaries:

Intermediaries play a pivotal role in the product distribution chain.

Focus on Wholesale Pulse Market:

Exploration of activities maintaining the functionality of Posta's wholesale pulse market.

• Daalposta is a wholesale market located in central Kolkata.
• It is one of the many wholesale markets in Kolkata, each specializing in selling a specific product.
• For instance, Alooposta is the wholesale market for potatoes, while Daalposta focuses on selling pulses.
• The Production and Marketing of Pulses
  • The journey of pulses, which eventually reach Daalposta, begins in fields across various regions of India.
  • Unlike crops like rice and wheat that demand more water, pulses thrive with lesser water. Despite this advantage, most Indian farmers prioritize growing staple food crops like rice or wheat, or profitable cash crops like cotton or sugarcane over pulses.
  • The primary reason for this preference is that pulses yield minimal profits compared to other crops.
• Issue with Pulses:
  • The government does not set a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for pulses, unlike other crops.
  • Due to this, pulse farmers are vulnerable to market fluctuations and exploitative middlemen.
  • Prices drop significantly during harvest when pulse supply is high, forcing farmers to sell at low rates.
  • Profits are often used to repay debts and buy resources for the next crop.
• Terms to Understand:
  • Supply chain: Involves all processes and entities converting raw materials into finished products and distributing them to consumers.
  • Mandi: Refers to wholesale markets.

By not establishing a Minimum Support Price for pulses, the government exposes pulse farmers to market vulnerabilities, leading to financial challenges and reliance on loans for future agricultural activities.

Pulses Supply Chain

Intermediaries in the pulses supply chain often possess milling machines or have partnerships with local mills. This enables them to process the pulses by cleaning, removing their outer layer, and polishing them. Subsequently, local traders mark up the prices of these pulses and vend them to local wholesalers.

• Local wholesalers further distribute these pulses to wholesalers situated in different regions.
• Transport agencies are engaged to transport the pulses to Daalposta using trucks.
• Pulses from various regions of India reach Daalposta. Major producing states include Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh.
• Wholesalers at Daalposta also procure pulses from farmers located in Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Karnataka, Punjab, Odisha, and West Bengal.

Posta Pulses Supply Chain

• Trucks carrying pulses in bulk arrive at Posta throughout the day.
• Sacks of pulses are unloaded at Daalposta.
• Out of around 420 wholesalers in Posta, approximately 120 are wholesalers of pulses.
• After unloading, pulses are stored in warehouses owned by the wholesalers, known locally as arhatiyas.
• Wholesalers pack small samples of pulses into plastic packets to show to other wholesalers and retailers from West Bengal.
• Retailers then take the pulses to their shops, where they are packed into different weight packets and displayed on racks.
• Consumers buy these packets of pulses.

• Farmers do not benefit much from a system heavily reliant on middlemen.
• Wholesalers acknowledge that consumer prices are almost double the rates at which farmers sell produce.
• Price hikes are justified due to services like processing, storage, and transportation provided by wholesalers and retailers.
• Wholesalers and retailers bear risks due to fluctuating pulse rates and the perishable nature of pulses.
• Pulses are prone to damage by insects and fungus if stored for over 2-3 months, posing risks to traders.
• Many farmers are forming cooperatives to combat market irregularities.
• Government initiatives aim to raise awareness on soil management techniques like crop rotation to promote pulse cultivation.
• Government and private programs, such as 1TC Ltd.'s E-Choupal, are working to safeguard farmers' interests.