Investigating the Drivers of Lavender Market Development in Tehri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India

AbstractDue to its growing economic importance and anticipated growth in market demand,Lavender is a hot topic in study in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. However, a numberof challenges hamper the development of the Lavender sector along with the value chains.Therefore, this paper explores the Lavender value chains timeline from crop to products,examining and comparing the expanding knowledge on the price spread, marketing cost,marketing margin, farmer’s share in consumer’s rupee and marketing efficiency of Lavendervalue chains that could lead to new products and uses.The chains are of two times mainly,Farmers – Contractor – Processor – Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer and Farmers –Contractor – Retailer – Consumer were followed in the sample area. The overall marketingcost was least at in value chain II for Lavender bulbs varied to the extent of ₹32, 45.5 and 43per kg at pre-, during- and post-pandemic, respectively, mainly due to direct selling ofproduce to retailers. The marketing margin was lower in value chain II for Lavender bulbsthat was ₹2188.8, 3731.7 and 15495 per kg for bulbs at pre-, during- and post-pandemic,respectively due to the less number of intermediaries. the farmer’s share in consumer’s rupeewas relatively high ranging from 9.86 to 13.52 per cent for bulbs, respectively, at pre-,during- and post-pandemic, respectively in value chain II. It was mainly due to directprocurement of raw material of Lavender from farmers to retailers via contractors. Therefore,the outcomes ultimately demonstrated that through the elimination of one or more middlemenand the reduction of marketing expenses, farmers could significantly increase their portion ofthe rupee paid by the end user. A higher index of marketing efficiency (1.16, 1.15 and 1.11for bulbs at pre-, during- and post-pandemic, respectively).