Marketing Constraints Faced by Grape Growers and Suggestions for Their Mitigation in Sangli District of Maharashtra, India

This study assessed the marketing constraints experienced by grape growers and the measures they proposed for addressing these difficulties in Sangli district, Maharashtra. An ex-post-facto research design was adopted in Tasgaon, Jath and Miraj tehsils. Data were collected through personal interviews with 150 growers from 15 villages using a structured interview schedule and analysed through frequencies, percentages and ranks. Exploitation by middlemen was the most frequently reported marketing constraint (87.33%), followed by complex export procedures (84.00%) and high cold-storage charges (79.33%). Other constraints included fluctuations in market prices (72.00%), low produce prices (68.67%), inadequate storage facilities (60.67%) and lack of processing units (58.00%). Limited export-oriented knowledge (54.67%), delayed cash payments (52.67%) and insufficient market information (48.67%) were also reported. Regarding mitigation, 92.67% of respondents recommended the introduction of a minimum support price for grapes, while 88.00% suggested affordable disease-free planting material and plant-protection chemicals. Additional suggestions included accessible cold-storage facilities (77.33%), marketing and export training (68.67%), exporter cluster schemes (66.00%), processing facilities in grape-growing areas (63.33%) and credit at lower interest rates (43.33%). The findings indicate that growers placed considerable importance on fair pricing, market infrastructure, export-related support and affordable production inputs. The results may inform locally relevant initiatives that respond to the marketing constraints and priorities identified by the surveyed growers.