Price spread and marketing efficiency of Assam’s organic tea
1Department of Economics, PDUAM, Tulungia, Bongaigaon-783383, Assam, India. 2Department of Economics, T.H.B. College, Jamugurihat-784189, Assam, India. 3Department of Economics, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh -786004, Assam, India, 4Department of Economics, Madhabdev University, Narayanpur, Lakhimpur-784164, Assam, India. Corresponding e-mail: manuranjan7@gmail.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2025.v27i04.112
Organic tea cultivation tends to exhibit distinct pricing and profitability dynamics compared to conventional tea farming practices. Guided by this objective, this study aims to analyze the price spread and identify marketing channel patterns, as well as assess the marketing efficiency of Assam’s organic tea. The study selected a total of 156 samples, comprising 94 organic tea growers, 35 retailers, and 27 village traders. The study employed specific formulas to analyze the price spread and marketing efficiency, utilizing Acharya’s approach to calculate the marketing efficiency of organic tea growers. The study identified four distinct marketing channels for organic tea: Channel I was the direct link where growers sell tea directly to consumers. In Channel II, retailers act as intermediaries between growers and consumers. Channel III includes an additional step where tea passes from growers to village traders, then to retailers, and finally to consumers. Channel IV connects growers to village traders, who then sell tea directly to consumers. The study found that Channel I exhibited higher marketing efficiency for both types of organic tea, i.e., green tea (0.68) and black tea (0.65). Additionally, the second most efficient channel for both types of tea is Channel IV, with an efficiency score of 0.19. Furthermore, the efficiency levels of Channel II and Channel III were found to be the same for green tea, at 0.18. In the case of black tea, the efficiency scores for Channel II and Channel III were 0.18 and 0.17, respectively.
